“WHEN I SAY POWER, YOU SAY KAREN!” Mariano Espinoza called out.
“POWER!”
“KAREN!” we shouted back.
“POWER!”
“KAREN!”
Then came the call that brought me to tears.
“WHEN I SAY LOVE, YOU SAY KAREN!”
“LOVE!”
“KAREN!”
“LOVE!”
“KAREN!”
On September 18, 2026, Minneapolis’s Orchestra Hall became something between a celebration, a family reunion, and a rally for justice. Standing before Karen Clark’s ashes, surrounded by the extraordinary community she helped build, we weren’t simply saying goodbye. We were honoring a giant on whose shoulders so many of us stand.
Karen, who died June 30 at age 80, made history in 1980 as the first openly lesbian person elected to the Minnesota Legislature. During her 38 years in public service, she helped secure landmark LGBTQ civil rights protections in 1993 and championed marriage equality, legalized in 2013.
But Karen’s understanding of justice was never confined to one movement. A nurse, neighborhood organizer, and environmental justice champion, she fought for healthier communities, immigrant rights, and driver’s licenses for all. With Jacquelyn Zita, her beloved partner of 35 years and wife, she co-founded the Women’s Environmental Institute.
The breadth of Karen’s life was reflected in the people who came together to remember her.
The sounds of Brass Solidarity evoked the joyful defiance of a New Orleans jazz funeral. Local food vendors, artists, musicians, and storytellers helped create a gathering filled with music, memory, and connection. Free buses, ASL and multilingual interpretation, and a livestream helped make the celebration accessible to more of the communities Karen loved.
Tributes from Indigenous, Hmong, East African, Latine, and LGBTQ community members reflected the many movements and relationships that shaped Karen’s life. Their stories, cultural traditions, and performances reminded us that her commitment to justice was deeply personal, rooted in listening, showing up, and standing alongside others.
Her impact was recognized at every level of government. President Barack Obama sent a letter honoring her legacy. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith attended the celebration and recognized Karen in the Congressional Record. Senator Scott Dibble secured a resolution from Minnesota legislators honoring her contributions, and Governor Tim Walz proclaimed September 18 Karen Clark Day.
Yet amid all those honors, it was the love of community in the room that moved me most.
Karen changed laws, lives, and what we believed was possible. She showed us that political power means little without love, and that love becomes transformative when we put it into action.
Her longtime friend Janet Dahlem described Karen as “an extraordinary beam of light for justice for everyone.”
At the close of the memorial, the lights dimmed, hundreds of phone lights rose from the darkness until the hall shimmered with the light of a community Karen had helped bring together. Karen’s light hadn’t gone out. It was shining all around us, and now it is ours to carry forward. Now an ancestor, her power lives on.
And that’s why Karen Clark is still, and always will be, my hero.
Tributes in Karen’s memory may be directed to the Women’s Environmental Institute at w-e-i.org.
