Biography:
— 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.