U.S. Rep. James Clyburn signs copies of his memoir after delivering a speech to leaders of South Carolina’s electric cooperatives. Photo by Mark Quinn
As a young man growing up in the segregated South, James Clyburn faced a number of challenges to his dream of becoming a politician.
“There were no African-Americans elected to public office back then,” says Clyburn. “No one I could point to and say, ‘I want to be just like that person.’ ”
Born in Sumter in 1940, Clyburn grew up under the watchful eye of his parents: a mother who was a civic-minded beautician and his father, who was a fundamentalist minister. That solid family life was an inspiration to Clyburn when he first sat down to write a memoir— Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black—about his rise from Sumter to become the third-highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“We are but the sum total of our experiences. No more, no less,” Clyburn says. “My experience was one of a supportive, loving environment, which gave me strength to dream.”
Clyburn began his ascent to leadership at the age of 12, when he was elected president of his National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) youth chapter. He later became a leader at South Carolina State University, where he helped break social barriers through peaceful protest.
Completed in late 2013, Blessed Experiences took “at least 20 years to write from start to finish,” Clyburn says. He hopes his story will serve as an inspiration to young people growing up in disadvantaged communities.
“I hope that some young person growing up in a difficult environment can read my story and realize that with support and motivation, anything is possible.”
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Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black is published by the University of South Carolina Press. Click here for more information.