Gov. Tate Reeves has ordered flags to be flown half-staff across Mississippi on Tuesday to honor the life and legacy of the late Rep. Robert Clark, Jr.
Clark, Mississippi’s first Black lawmaker post-Reconstruction, passed away at age 96 last week. His son, current state Rep. Bryant Clark, made the announcement.
“Representative Robert Clark was a devoted public servant and trailblazing leader who made our state better. His unwavering commitment to Mississippi will always be remembered,” Reeves wrote on social media. “To honor his legacy, I directed flags to be lowered at half-staff from sunrise to sunset tomorrow.”
Clark spent more than 30 years in the Mississippi House of Representatives, acting as the legislative voice for his Holmes County constituents. In 1977, he became the first Black committee chairman of the House when given the top post of the Education Committee. He was elevated to the role of speaker pro tempore in 1992 and held that ranking until his retirement in 2003.
Before his time in the capitol, the trailblazing Mississippian became involved in the civil rights movement while employed as a school teacher. He worked to educate and register Black voters. After he retired from elected office, he was the first Black Mississippian to have a state building named after him.
