Amidst the most heated congressional race Evanston has experienced in decades, one of the longest-serving Black congressmen ever — Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District — will visit the Evanston Township High School auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave.
The event is this Tuesday, March 10th, from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm and no registration is required. It will feature a conversation with Natalie Y. Moore of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University focused on the congressman’s new book, The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation.
The forum is sponsored by the locally-based Family Action Network, a not-for-profit organization that curates an educational speaker series. Guests are directed to enter at Door 6.
As a publicity notice explains, Clyburn’s work examines the stories of eight Black politicians from South Carolina who preceded him by nearly a century “in the wake of the Civil War and emancipation,” thereby confronting “the enduring demon of American racism.”
Copies of The First Eight will be provided free to attendees, while supplies last.
Jon Samuels, an Evanston-based consultant, former Obama administration congressional affairs lead, and an aide to both Clyburn and retiring Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, said the congressman’s visit is timely.
“It’s hard to imagine a national leader more relevant to the conversations at the heart of our local and national dialogue,” said Samuels in an email.
He added that Tuesday presents “an incredible opportunity for the community to meet and hear from someone who has been one of the most important voices advancing civil rights, a powerful agenda for working people, and taking on the far right for over 60 years.”
Clyburn, the son of a minister, rose from humble beginnings in the segregated South. He reportedly knew the recently departed Reverend Jesse Jackson in high school and spent his early years as a history teacher.
He helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and became close friends with the civil rights icon and late U.S. Representative from Georgia, John Lewis, whom he later elevated to the position of senior chief deputy whip (alongside Schakowsky).
As the RoundTable reported, Lewis, who was famously beaten unconscious by state troopers while marching for equal rights on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, also came to ETHS in September of 2016 for a FAN-sponsored assembly.
In Washington, Clyburn served as the third-ranking House Democrat from 2007 until 2023, just behind Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer. When Democrats controlled the House agenda during that period, Clyburn served as majority whip — a position responsible for wrangling votes and persuading members to maintain allegiance to the party line.
His legislative accomplishments include the advancement of hate crimes legislation and the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which allowed LGBTQ+ individuals to serve openly in the U.S. military.
Clyburn’s leadership was also pivotal to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). Both landmark laws were enacted in 2010.
In 2020, with rank-and-file Democrats divided about their choice of standard-bearers and the COVID-19 pandemic compelling lockdowns around the globe, Clyburn rallied to his friend, former Vice President Joe Biden, carrying his home state’s electorate with him. His influence helped secure Biden’s primary nomination victory and subsequent electoral success over Donald Trump.
In 2024, at age 83, Clyburn stepped down from leadership, clearing a path for younger lawmakers of diverse makeup, but he remains a mentor to the Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Now 85, he has not yet announced if he’ll seek another term.
His book, The First Eight, is described by FAN as “a singular blend of history and memoir — at once a monument to eight trailblazing Americans, a meditation on progress, and a clear-eyed reckoning with how far we have yet to go in our nation’s ongoing struggle for true democracy.”
Tuesday’s event is considered suitable for youth ages 12 and up. It will not be live-streamed, but it will be recorded and available for later viewing on FAN’s website and YouTube channel, according to organizers.
Senior Black Congressman to visit ETHS Tuesday is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston’s most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.
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March 8, 2026 at 01:17PM
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