Most histories by politicians are automatically suspect. They tend to portray a political agenda instead of a search for historical truth. Jim Clyburn’s history of the first eight black congressmen from South Carolina is different. Why? As the ninth black congressman (nearly a century later), he has unique access to a rich cultural history surrounding these men, much of which has been erased in wider white SC society. His political agenda is simple: To unearth and display the truth so that we can appreciate their stories.
In a SC high school classroom, I heard little of these men. I knew their names, but I heard little of their personalities and their narratives. Thankfully, Clyburn has rescued them here in one prominent place. I heard about Robert Smalls, a highly influential South Carolinian in the Civil War and its aftermath, in detail. I heard about a race struggling to establish its freed identity among organized white oppression.
Clyburn wrote this story during the rise of the MAGA movement in America, and history’s parallels are eerily familiar. I won’t enter into details, but I suggest interested parties explore them by reading this book. Clyburn explicitly portrays how similar the 19th-century and modern-day tactics are.
South Carolina held a unique place in the post-war US because it housed a black popular majority that whites oppressed to “redeem” their pre-war situation via Jim Crow. Despite the newly freed’s bigger voting numbers, whites figured out how to suppress the vote through dubious practices. These eight congressmen – not all of whom were good and effective – were able to serve their state and country for a short time. Because of their historic roles, the peaks of their political careers were high and eloquent, but because of their opposition’s vitriolic unity, their personal troughs were low. Many died destitute and unheralded.
Literally no one alive can write this history with the type of commentary that Clyburn provides. His perspective as a long-serving black politician in a different era chronicles the progress we’ve made and the need to conserve that progress. That makes this book an excellent treasure for curious minds to peruse, ponder, and proliferate in their lives. I’m grateful Clyburn preserved this history before he leaves public life and reminds us all about what we have to struggle for politically.
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
By Jim Clyburn
Narrated by Jim Clyburn
Text copyright (c) 2025
Little, Brown & Company
Audio copyright (c) 2025
Little, Brown & Company
ASIN B0DTBS2J8D
Length: 11:02
Genre: Memoir, History
www.amazon.com