Jim Clyburn and John Yarmuth

This conversation features United States Congressman Jim Clyburn, interviewed by former U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth. They discuss Clyburn’s book “The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation” before a live audience at the Kentucky Author Forum. This conversation was recorded on November 24th, 2025, at the Kentucky Center in Louisville. James E. Clyburn is the Congressman representing South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2024, he was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Clyburn’s book, “The First Eight” explores the powerful, untold story of the pioneering Black politicians from South Carolina who were elected to Congress in the aftermath of the Civil War, and a revealing explanation of why it took nearly a century before the ninth, James Clyburn, was elected. John Yarmuth is a retired United States Congressman who served eight terms as the representative of Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District and was chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2019-2023. He was the primary sponsor of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Prior to his congressional career, he founded and edited the Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), a weekly alternative newspaper. During his 15 years with LEO, Yarmuth won nearly 20 awards for column and editorial writing.