James E. Clyburn

A Representative from South Carolina. Born in Sumter, Sumter County, S. C. , July 21, 1940. Graduated from Mather Academy, Camden, S. C. , 1957. B. A. , South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, S. C. , 1961. Teacher. Newspaper publisher. Employment counselor, South Carolina state employment security commission, 1965-1966. Director, Charleston County, S. C. , neighborhood youth corps and new careers projects, 1966-1968. Executive director, South Carolina state commission for farm workers, 1968-1971. Staff, Governor John C. West of South Carolina, 1971-1974. South Carolina human affairs commissioner, 1974-1992. Elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the sixteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1993-present). Chair, House Democratic Caucus (One Hundred Ninth Congress). Majority whip (One Hundred Tenth, One Hundred Eleventh, One Hundred Sixteenth, and One Hundred Seventeenth Congresses). Assistant Democratic leader (One Hundred Twelfth through One Hundred Fifteenth Congresses, and One Hundred Eighteenth Congress). Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. , 2024.