The First Eight

A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation

Hardback

Variants

by Jim Clyburn

$30.00

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From one of America's most venerable politicians, the powerful, untold story of the pioneering Black congressmen from South Carolina who were elected in the aftermath of the Civil War, revealing why it took nearly a century before the ninth, James Clyburn, was elected.

Today, South Carolina congressman James E. Clyburn is renowned as a Democratic kingmaker and our nation's most august Black political leader. But behind him stand eight other remarkable men: the first Black politicians to go to Congress from his home state, and who blazed a path for his own ascent. Since his own arrival in Congress in the early nineties, Congressman Clyburn has been guided by the wisdom and example of these men, and also instructed by their struggles—especially with the demon of American racism. South Carolina's first eight Black congressmen all rose to office following the Civil War and emancipation, but then the dark veil of Jim Crow fell across the South. It would take nearly a century before the ninth Black representative, Clyburn himself, was elected.

In The First Eight, Congressman Clyburn shares these men's stories, and their message of liberty, with the nation they served. Among them are Joseph Rainey, the first Black politician to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in our nation's history, who was born enslaved in 1832; Robert Smalls, iconic for his heroism during the Civil War, when he fled the Confederacy, stole a ship, and fought for the Union Army; and Richard Cain, who ran a widely read newspaper for Black South Carolinians and is associated with the Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest and most distinguished Black churches in America, and where neo-Nazi Dylan Roof killed nine Black congregants in a mass shooting in 2015. Through the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and challenges that all nine men faced, Congressman Clyburn reveals a whole new way of understanding the period between the Civil War and the present.

A unique blend of history and memoir, The First Eight is both a monument to the legacies of these eight trailblazing Americans, and also a clear-eyed appraisal of how far we've come, and how far we have left to go, in our nation's ongoing struggle for true democracy.

Published By Little, Brown and Company

Format Hardback

Category

Number Of Pages 304

Publication Date 11/11/2025

ISBN 9780316572743

Dimensions 6.3 inches x 9.55 inches

“James Clyburn, one of the wisest men of my generation, has given us a great gift with this enlightening history of civil rights in the post-Civil War south. A tale of hope, violence, and resilience, it is not only a tribute to the ‘First Eight’ but also a stern warning for all of us today.”—James Blanchard, Former Governor of Michigan, US Congressman, and Ambassador to Canada

“Some people make history. Some people write history. James Clyburn does both. In The First Eight, he has crafted a timely and fascinating account of Reconstruction South Carolina that skillfully weaves his political career into the successes and struggles of the often overlooked eight African Americans who preceded him by more than a century in the U. S. House of Representatives.”—William C. Hine, Professor Emeritus of History, South Carolina State University

“A work of liberative archaeology, unearthing the genius, grit, and gravitas of Black political leadership born in the crucible of Reconstruction. It is the truth-telling that our souls and the soul of this nation need, and a clarion call to remember rightly and rise with a moral resolve to confront the unfinished struggle of our time.”—Bishop Vashti Murphy Mckenzie, President and General Secretary, National Council of Churches

“A gripping Reconstruction Era history that chronicles the First Eight Black South Carolina Congressmen’s turbulent rise to national prominence. Nearly a century after the last of them left Congress, Congressman Clyburn—from whom I first learned this history as a high-school student in 1964—began to carry their legacy forward as the Ninth.”—James I. Gadsden, Former United States Ambassador

"Jim Clyburn has inspired generations of American leaders. In The First Eight, he tells the compelling story of the leaders who inspired him. At a time when Black history is being erased from public life, it brings these hidden figures into full view, drawing critical parallels between the deep challenges to our democracy in the 20th century and our current crisis—enlightening and ultimately moving the reader to hope."—Danielle Holley, President of Mount Holyoke College, Dean Emerita of Howard University School of Law

"A thoughtful consideration of historical figures too little known to readers today."—Kirkus Reviews

"A vividly written account of the life and times of the first eight African Americans who represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives...Clyburn expertly and concisely blends the history of Reconstruction and accounts of the differeing backgrounds and lives of each of the first eight."—Booklist (starred review)

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