Kristen Clarke grew up in public housing in Brooklyn, as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants.
Now, she's in line to become the first woman and the first woman of color to formally lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division since it was created in 1957.
That's if she can get through a closely divided Senate, where Republicans have signaled they will put up a fight.
Clarke will appear before the Judiciary Committee Wednesday, when lawmakers are preparing to assess her record.