Congressman Jim Clyburn announces the 2025 South Carolina book tour for The First Eight

U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) announced the 2025 dates of his South Carolina tour promoting his new book, The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation, published by Little, Brown and Company. The book will be released on Tuesday, November 11, 2025.

The book chronicles the lives of the pioneering eight Black South Carolinians who preceded him in the U.S. Congress, and the events that led to the 95-year gap between the last of the eight and Jim Clyburn, who became the ninth. On the book tour, Congressman Clyburn will participate in conversations about leadership, service, and the lessons of South Carolina’s unique place in American history.

“The First Eight is not my story alone. It’s South Carolina’s. It’s about the courage, conviction, and faith of the men who blazed the trail and made my own journey possible,” said Congressman Clyburn. “My hope is that readers will come to know these extraordinary South Carolinians and the important lessons their experiences teach us.”

Here are the book tour events scheduled for 2025:

South Carolina Book Tour Schedule

Friday, November 14, 2025 — Charleston Literary Festival, Charleston, SC
Time: 11:00 AM–12:00 Noon (tickets are sold out)
Location: Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Moderator: Dr. Tonya Matthews, President and CEO of the International African American Museum

Sunday, November 16, 2025 — Sumter, SC
Time: 3:00–4:00 PM program; 4:00–4:45 PM book signing and reception
Location: Patriot Hall, 135 Haynesworth Street, Sumter, SC 29150
Moderator: Jim Felder, one of the first Blacks to serve in the S.C. Legislature after the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act

Saturday, December 6, 2025 — Columbia, SC
Time: 10:00–11:00 AM program; 11:00–11:45 AM book signing
Location: University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice Law School Auditorium, 1525 Senate Street, Columbia, SC 29208
Moderator: Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Executive Director of the University of South Carolina Center for Civil Rights History & Research

Sunday, December 7, 2025 — Orangeburg, SC
Time: 3:00–4:00 PM program; 4:00–4:45 PM book signing
Location: Orangeburg County Conference Center, 1643 Russell Street, Orangeburg, SC 29115
Moderator: Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Executive Director of the University of South Carolina Center for Civil Rights History & Research

About The First Eight

The First Eight is Congressman Clyburn’s powerful new book about South Carolina’s central role in America’s democratic journey. Drawing on the lives of the eight Black congressmen from South Carolina who served in the wake of the Civil War, Clyburn tells a deeply personal and profoundly South Carolinian story of perseverance, progress, and the pursuit of justice. Through the extraordinary lives of trailblazers like Joseph Rainey, Robert Smalls, and Richard Cain, Clyburn explores how their courage paved the way for his own election nearly a century later and what their legacy means for South Carolina and the nation today.