Augusta Clark

Augusta "Gussie" Clark (March 5, 1932 – October 13, 2013) was an American librarian, lawyer and politician. Clark was elected to an at-large seat on the Philadelphia City Council in 1979, becoming the second African-American woman to serve on the city council. (Ethel D. Allen, who served on the council from 1972 to 1979, was Philadelphia's first African-American councilwoman.) Clark served on the Philadelphia City Council from 1980 until her retirement in 2000. Biography Early life Clark was born Augusta Alexander on March 5, 1932, in Uniontown, Alabama, to Harrison and Lula B. Alexander. She was raised in Fairmont, West Virginia, and earned her bachelor's degree from West Virginia State College, now known as West Virginia State University. She met her future husband, Leroy W. Clark, while both were students at West Virginia State, though they did not marry until 1960, when both were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The couple had two children, Mark and Adrienne. She had moved to Philadelphia after college for professional reasons. She was a member of the Bright Hope Baptist Church from 1954 until 2013. Career Clark moved to Philadelphia when she was hired as an assistant on the now defunct Color magazine. Color, which was based on Life magazine, was targeted for African-American readers. However, Color folded and went out-of business. Clark became a graduate student at Drexel University soon after the magazine's closure, where she received a master's degree in library science. She worked as a librarian in Philadelphia. Clark next enrolled at the Temple University Beasley School of Law when she was 39 years old and earned her law degree.