Politics / Visual art
Hansen Clarke
born 1957 · politician, artist
East Side Detroiter of Bengali and African American parentage, trained as a painter, who served in both houses of the Michigan Legislature and as the first Bangladeshi American in Congress (2011–2013).
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 69- Birth name
- Molik Hashim
- Detroit years
- 1957–
- Field
- Politics, Visual art
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Hansen Clarke was born Molik Hashim in Detroit in 1957 to a Bengali immigrant father from Sylhet and an African American mother, and grew up on the city's Lower East Side. His father died when he was eight, and his mother supported the family as a school crossing guard. He attended Cass Technical High School, finished at a Massachusetts boarding school and studied fine arts at Cornell, where he won a student seat on the board of trustees; in 1978 he took his mother's maiden name. After work as a painter and legislative aide, he was elected to the Michigan House in 1990 and again in 1998 and 2000, and served in the state Senate from 2003 to 2011. In 2010 he unseated Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in the Democratic primary and went to Congress, pushing a bill to halt foreclosures and cut mortgage principal for struggling homeowners. Redistricting pitted him against Gary Peters in 2012, and he lost. He still lives on the East Side.
Highlights
- First Bangladeshi American member of Congress (2011–2013)
- Michigan state senator, 2003–2011
- Michigan state representative, 1991–1992 and 1999–2002
- Sponsor of the Save Our Neighborhoods Act against foreclosures
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1970s
Cass Technical High School
He attended Detroit's selective public high school before finishing at a Massachusetts boarding school.