**THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD OUT. NO SEATS REMAIN EITHER THROUGH ON-LINE OR IN-PERSON TICKETING**
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum invites you to a special evening with Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and the first African American to serve multiple terms as Majority Whip in the U.S. Congress, the Honorable James E. Clyburn.
Congressman Clyburn will be joined in conversation with ALPLM Executive Director Christina Shutt for a wide-ranging discussion centered around his book, The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation. The book weaves Clyburn’s personal life journey and the first Black politicians to go to Congress from his home state of South Carolina during Reconstruction, and who blazed a path for his own ascent to serving as a prominent Congressional leader since the early 1990’s.
Join us on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in the ALPLM Union Theater for an evening celebrating the legacies of these eight trailblazing Americans, and an honest assessment of our nation's ongoing struggle for true democracy from one of America’s most respected Black leaders.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Program begins at 6:30 p.m. The program will begin with a special performance of the ALPLM live performance of the short, one-act play, “Small Beginnings,” that tells the inspiring and courageous story of Robert Smalls, an enslaved African American in South Carolina who commandeered a Confederate naval ship and sailed his family and others to freedom in Union naval waters.
This event is free to attend but advance registration is required. A book signing will follow the program.
ABOUT CONGRESSMAN JAMES E. CLYBURN: James E. Clyburn is the U.S. Congressman representing South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and Chairman of the Democratic Faith Working Group. He previously served as Assistant Democratic Leader from 2011 to 2018 and 2023 to March 2024, and House Majority Whip from 2019 to 2022 and 2007 to 2010, making him the first African American to serve multiple terms as Majority Whip. A native son of South Carolina, Clyburn has represented the state’s Sixth Congressional District since 1993.
A 1961 graduate of South Carolina State he began his professional career as a public-school teacher in Charleston, SC.
He later served as an employment counselor, and director of two youth and community development programs. In 1971, he joined the staff of Governor John C. West, becoming the first African American advisor to a South Carolina governor. In 1974, Governor West appointed him South Carolina Human Affairs Commissioner where he served until 1992 when he retired from state government to run for Congress.
The recipient of 39 honorary degrees, Congressman Clyburn numerous awards including: the Lyndon Baines Johnson Liberty and Justice for All Award in 2015; the Harry S Truman Foundation’s Good Neighbor Award in 2021; the NAACP’s highest honor — the Spingarn Medal — in 2022, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — in 2024.
Congressman Clyburn and his late wife, Emily England Clyburn, met as college student protestors in an Orangeburg, South Carolina jail in 1960. The encounter led to a 58-year marriage, and they became parents of three daughters, grandparents to four grandchildren, and great grandparents to one great grandchild.
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