RICHARD V. CLARKE

CLARKE--Richard V. Richard V. Clarke, one of the pioneers in the field of African-American business recruitment, and a generous and wise counselor to New York arts institutions, passed away on Friday, March 9, 2012, after a brief illness. He was born in New York City on June 11, 1927, the son of Emelda Clarke Mills and La Roi Mills. He spent his childhood and teenage years in D'Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago before returning to New York City. Shortly after his return, he enlisted in the New York National Guard. In 1957, he founded Hallmark Employment Agency, the precursor to Richard Clarke & Associates, the nation's first diversity recruitment firm with offices in New York and Chicago. In the early 1960 he created the Job Opportunity Centers, the equivalent to what is now known as job fairs. The firm closed its doors upon his retirement in 2004. In the 1970's, he published Contact Magazine, one of the first for an African American business audience. A longtime resident of the Upper West Side, he had a keen interest in the visual arts and he was an avid collector of African and African American art, autographs, and books. His true passion was spending time with family and friends, often on the deck of his former home in the Ninevah section of Sag Harbor, NY. Clarke was very active in the New York business and arts communities. He sat on many boards, including the New York Chapter of 100 Black Men of America, the New York Council on the Arts, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and as a Trustee, and later, Trustee Emeritus at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he was a member of the External Affairs Committee, and was a founder and member of the Museum's Multicultural Audience Development Advisory Committee. He is survived by his children, Tracy Clarke and Richard C. Clarke, his daughter-in-law Shena Clarke, two granddaughters, Maya and Ava, his brother, Dr. Steven Mills, and many loving relatives and friends. A private memorial service will be held later.