Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke will represent the Ninth Congressional District of New York as part of a bipartisan delegation of her colleagues in Congress who will attend the National Memorial Services to honor the life and legacy of President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday, December 10.

“I consider it a great honor and privilege to be among the delegation of leaders representing the United States at the National Memorial Service in remembrance of the late, great President Nelson Mandela.

“As an executive member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), I understood it my duty to take the opportunity to pay homage to President Mandela and his leadership and sacrifice on behalf of the South African people.

“It was through the leadership of members of the CBC that forceful sanctions were enacted which ultimately made it impossible for the brutal and racist apartheid regime to continue. The steadfast commitment and dedication of my predecessors in Congress, in solidarity with the liberation movement led by Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the ANC, remains a part of a legacy of social justice that was critical to the transformation of the nation of South Africa.  I am grateful to Nelson Mandela for his unselfish and unwavering commitment to the oppressed and for the legacy of Freedom and Justice he has left for us all.

“I will remember Nelson Mandela as a Global Icon who by his life’s work and example demonstrated to the people of South Africa and indeed the World, that through hope, faith, righteousness and perseverance, it was possible to liberate the oppressed, and with the strength of moral conviction, bend the arc of history toward justice, in one’s lifetime.

“Many of my constituents here in Brooklyn have offered their condolences and reflections, which I intend to share with the people of South Africa and the family of President Nelson Mandela. May our fond memories of him inform our efforts to build a better world.”

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will also attend the services, held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.