By Nelson A. King
Caribbean American Democratic
Congresswoman Yvette
D. Clarke announced on Tuesday
that her “life partner of
30 years,” Charles B. Durham,
died suddenly on Saturday in
Brooklyn. He was 62.
“It is with a heavy heart that
I must announce the sudden
and unexpected passing of my
life partner and best friend,
Mr. Charles B. Durham over
the weekend,” said Clarke, the
daughter of Jamaican immigrants,
who represents the
9th Congressional District in
Brooklyn, in a statement.
“’Mr. Charles’, as he was
affectionately known, has been
my rock and steadfast life partner
whom I have had the sincere
privilege, joy and honor to
share the last 30 years with,”
added Clarke, whose district
includes Central and South
Brooklyn.
“There are no words to
describe the sense of loss all
those who love him feel,” continued
the chair of the Congressional
New Yorkers over 60:
Para cuando me
conoces, ya sera
demasiado tarde.
Soy Rampaje. Soy un coronavirus
Te sofocaré con mi amor destructivo.
Piense de nuevo en la vacuna.
Hable con un médico.
Caribbean L 14 ife, February 4-10, 2022
Black Caucus Taskforce
on Immigration, senior
member of the House of Representatives’
Energy and Commerce
Committee, and senior
member of the House Committee
on Homeland Security.
“I simply ask that you honor
my family’s privacy during our
moment of grief and please be
gracious with your patience,
as we come to terms with this
announcement.”
Earlier, Clarke told Caribbean
Life exclusively that firefighters,
from the Fire Department
of New York (FDNY),
found Durham, an Ohio native,
after 10:00 pm Saturday, in a
chair at her campaign headquarters
on Nostrand Avenue,
between Maple and Midwood
streets, in East Flatbush, near
the popular Caribbean bakery,
Allan’s.
The congresswoman said her
“forever fiancé” had a “major
cardiac event” after shoveling
snow earlier at the couple’s residence
on Midwood Street.
She said Durham had also
shoveled snow from the major
Nor’easter, which blanketed the
northeast United States on Saturday,
at Clarke’s parents’ residence,
also on Midwood Street,
as well as reportedly at other
neighbors on the block.
Clarke’s mother is Jamaican
born, former New York
City Council Member Dr. Una
S.T. Clarke, the first Caribbeanborn
woman to be elected to
New York City Council.
Clarke said her fiancé’s sister
had even cautioned her brother
about shoveling too much
snow, and that he had also told
Clarke that he was not feeling
too well and was “going
to rest.”
The congresswoman said
Durham had also shoveled
snow from the side walk at her
campaign headquarters.
She said after repeatedly trying
to reach Durham, unsuccessfully,
on Saturday, she
called 911, the emergency hotline.
Clarke said firefighters, after
forced entry into the building,
Charles B. Durham dead at 62. Jeanette Lenoir
at her campaign headquarters,
found Durham unresponsive
on a chair.
She said she had first met
Durham, during a class on
theater, in her senior year at
Oberlin College in Ohio, as part
of the college’s Black Studies
Program.
During that time, Clarke
said Durham had pointed to
plans to move to New York.
Though funeral arrangements
are yet to be finalized,
Clarke said the funeral service
will likely take place at the
nearby St. Gabriel Episcopal
Church on Hawthorne Street,
where the Clarkes worship, on
Saturday, Feb. 12.
Yvette Clarke’s long-time
partner passes suddenly
nyc.gov/aging/StopRampage
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