Truth To Power | Jim Clyburn | Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation | 5-22-26

This week on Truth to Power, in this important mid-term election year, we bring you a conversation with U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn about his book "The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation," with Louisville's former Congressman John Yarmuth. Jim Clyburn is the U.S. Congressman representing South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. He previously served as House Majority Whip from 2019 to 2022 and 2007 to 2010, making him the first African American to serve multiple terms as Majority Whip. Currently, he serves as the Ranking Member on the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. The recipient of 39 honorary degrees, Congressman Clyburn’s numerous awards include: the Lyndon Baines Johnson Liberty and Justice for All Award in 2015; the Harry S Truman Foundation’s Good Neighbor Award in 2021; the NAACP’s highest honor — the Spingarn Medal — in 2022, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — in 2024. His endorsement of Joe Biden for president in 2020 is credited with boosting him to an overwhelming victory in the South Carolina and subsequent primaries and setting Biden on the path to the presidency. Clyburn’s book, The First Eight, is an extraordinary work of living history. It 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. Learn more about the book at https://www.carmichaelsbookstore.com/book/9780316572743 John Yarmuth is a former United States Congressman who served eight terms as the representative of Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District (2007-2023) 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. Yarmuth became the first Kentuckian to join the Progressive Congressional Caucus. He has been recognized for his work to improve education and expand access to affordable health care. 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. This conversation was held before a live audience at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville on November 24, 2025. It was produced by the UofL Kentucky Author Forum and was released in January as the fifty-ninth episode of Great Podversations (https://kentuckyauthorforum.com/podcast/great-podversations-episode-59-clyburn-yarmuth/). Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org