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U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn of South Carolina will be the keynote speaker
at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University History Department's
Annual Gibbs Lecture, Monday, April 7, 6 p.m. in Harrison Auditorium. This event
is free and open to the public.
Clyburn is the highest ranking African American in the U.S. Congress and the House Majority Whip. He became the first South Carolinian and the second African American to ascend to the third ranking position in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Clyburn is a former history teacher and has served as an employment counselor,
and director of two youth and community development programs. In 1968, he
became director of a migrant and seasonal farm workers program. A graduate
of South Carolina State University and avid alum, he and his wife Emily have
raised over $1.5 million for an Archives and History Endowment they have
established at the school. The University named the campus facilities in
their honor. He is also the recipient of 16 honorary degrees.
He launched his political career in 1970 when he ran for the South Carolina
House of Representatives but lost. His defeat caught the attention of then
newly elected Governor John Carl West, who asked Clyburn to join his administration.
In accepting the post, he became the first African American advisor to a South
Carolina governor since post Reconstruction.
Clyburn would later be appointed South Carolina's Human Affairs Commissioner, a position he held for almost 18 years. He gained the reputation of being a fair and firm mediator and consensus builder. But when he ran for S.C. Secretary of State in 1978 and again in 1986, he was again met with defeat.
Then in 1992, he resigned his position as Human Affairs Commissioner and devoted his time into pursuing a lifelong dream of serving in the U.S. Congress - a place African Americans from S.C. had served in since 1897. He was successful this time around and in January 1993, was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
He served as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and to a seat on the Appropriations Committee. In 2002, he was elected in a three-way race to serve as vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and in January 2006, he became the chair of the Caucus.
In addition to serving as House Majority Whip, Clyburn serves as leader of the House Democrat’s Faith Working Group. He and his wife have three daughters and two grandchildren.
For more information contact Sandrea Williamson or Dr. Millicent Brown in the History Department at 336.285.2320.