David Allen Clarke (October 13, 1943 – March 27, 1997)[2] was an American civil-rights worker, attorney, and Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. Elected as one of the original members of the Council of the District of Columbia when D.C. gained home rule in 1974, Clarke served as its chair from 1983 to 1991, and again from the death of John A. Wilson in 1993 until his own death in 1997.

[1][6] He then enrolled at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, but, wanting to take a more direct role in the Civil Rights Movement, after two weeks he transferred to the nearby Upland Institute for Social Change and Conflict Management.

[1][7] Clarke decided to pursue a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law.

[7][1] After finishing law school, he worked briefly for the U.S. Senate Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs,[8] and then became Director of the Washington Bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

[4] While on the Council, he was known for an ability to transcend race, a legacy from his experience as an activist and important in a racially divided district.

[2][7][8][15][16] Clarke died of a central nervous system lymphoma, a form of brain cancer.