FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 2, 2021

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) released the following statement celebrating ACLU president, Deborah Archer. Archer will be the first Jamaican-American president of the American Civil Liberties Union: 

ACLU president Deborah Archer is a civil rights lawyer who began her career with the ACLU as a fellow and has sat on the board of the ACLU since 2009. She has served as general counsel to the ACLU since 2017. Apart from her work with the ACLU, Archer is also a professor and director of the Civil Rights Clinic at New York University School of Law.

“I would like to extend a sincere congratulations to Deborah Archer, the new president of the ACLU. After 101 years, it is high time that a person of color holds this position. More aptly, I am proud that the first Black president of the ACLU is of Jamaica-American heritage. The ACLU has been part of every important battle for civil liberties during our first century, and they remain committed to continuing that legacy as we enter our second. I wish president Archer all the best on her mission to advance future battles for civil rights, civil liberties, and systemic equality,” said Clarke. 

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Yvette D. Clarke has been in Congress since 2007. She represents New York’s Ninth Congressional District, which includes Central and South Brooklyn. Clarke is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

Media contact: 

Remmington Belford 

Remmington.belford@mail.house.gov c: 202.480.5737