Alyce Clarke
Alyce Griffin Clarke is an American politician. A Democrat, she is a former member of the Mississippi [House of Representatives] from the 69th district, being first elected in 1985 and serving until 2024. She was the first black woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature.
Early life
Clarke was born on July 3, 1939, in Yazoo City, Mississippi. She received a bachelor's degree from Alcorn State University and a master's degree from Tuskegee Institute. She also attended Jackson State University and Mississippi College. Prior running for office, Clarke worked in education, teaching home economics. She also worked as a nutritionist at a community health center in Hinds County. She married L.W. Clarke Jr and they had one child, Demarquis Johntrell.Political career
Clarke was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives for the 69th district in 1984. She was the first black woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature. She worked on bringing the federal Women, Infants and Children food program to the state, setting up drug courts and organizing school breakfasts. In the 1990s, she founded a short-lived "biracial, bipartisan" Women's Caucus in the Mississippi House.She retired at the 2023 Mississippi elections in November.