James E. Clyburn currently serves as the Assistant Democratic Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. A 30-year Congressional veteran, he has been a kingmaker in presidential elections, an influential and effective legislative leader, and an unwavering voice for civil rights. Born in Sumter, South Carolina, during the Jim Crow era, he has been awarded the NAACP's highest honor – the Spingarn Medal, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation's Liberty and Justice for All Award, the Harry S. Truman Foundation's Good Neighbor Award, and holds honorary degrees from nearly 40 colleges and universities. In 2024, he was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. "One of a handful of people who, when they speak, the entire Congress listens."-President Barack Obama "My friend and brother, Congressman James E. Clyburn, has been in my corner since day one-and I am so grateful for his support."-President Joe Biden
"This audiobook profiles the first eight South Carolinians of color to serve in Congress. It's written by the ninth--but there was a gap of several decades between numbers eight and nine. The first eight included free Northern blacks who moved to South Carolina after the Civil War, native freedmen, and former slaves. Author Jim Clyburn chronicles their remarkable lives and narrates his own work. He adds appropriate emotion to the tales of defeat and victory, anguish and exultation. While his distinctive voice and delivery are admirably suited for the political stump or church pulpit, sadly it makes extended listening more challenging. A better choice would have been for Clyburn to narrate the introduction and a more polished narrator to deliver the rest. R.C.G. � AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine"
