UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY AUTHOR FORUM PRESENTS: In collaboration with the Political Science Department: U.S. CONGRESSMAN JIM CLYBURN
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Press Release
In conversation with Dr. Sherri Wallace, Associate Dean and Professor, Department of Political Science, about Congressman Clyburn’s book, The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
University of Louisville College of Business, Room 336, 110 W Brandeis Ave, Louisville, KY 40208
November 24, 2025, at 11am
The entire campus community is welcome for discussion and Q & A with Congressman Clyburn, a free event.
And later that evening
CONGRESSMAN JIM CLYBURN with RETIRED CONGRESSMAN JOHN YARMUTH
Tickets On Sale Now at KentuckyPerformingArts.org
U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, former majority whip, and author of The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
Interviewer, Retired Congressman John Yarmuth
Monday, November 24th, 2025, at THE KENTUCKY CENTER
James E. Clyburn is the Congressman representing South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he previously served as Majority Whip. A more than 30-year Congressional veteran, he has been an influential and effective legislative leader and an unwavering voice for civil rights. In 2024, he was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Clyburn’s book, The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation, 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.
Praise for The First Eight:
“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
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. Yarmuth 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
EVENT DETAILS for ALL THREE FORUMS:
University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum
at Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts
5:00 PM - Wine and Cheese Reception, Carmichael’s pre-signed book sale in the lobby
6:00 PM – Interview in the Bomhard Theater
7:00 PM - Q&A with audience in the Bomhard Theater
$35 package includes all evening events before 7:30 PM
7:30 PM – Special Dinner in honor of the author and interviewer
$170 package includes all events, plus dinner
($40 tax deductible contribution to non-profit Kentucky Author Forum)
Tickets on sale at The Kentucky Center
Call 502-584-7777 or visit: : www.kentuckyperformingarts.org
Discounted tickets for University of Louisville students, faculty, and staff may be purchased over the phone by mentioning UofL affiliation and showing UofL ID when picking up tickets on the night of the Forum. Limit of two tickets per order.
“Great Conversations created in Louisville and heard Nationwide.”
The University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forums are made available to PBS member stations nationwide, under the title Great Conversations. KAF is the only Louisville cultural program to be broadcast nationally. Forums are also recorded as podcast episodes, called Great Podversations, which are distributed by Louisville Public Media, and available on iTunes, NPR, Spotify, Stitcher, and most other podcast apps.
The Kentucky Author Forum series was founded by Mary Moss Greenebaum, and is sponsored by the Owsley Brown II Family, Bittners, the James Graham Brown Foundation, Kertis, and LDG Development. Other partners include Carmichael’s Bookstore, Kentucky Performing Arts, KET, The Courier-Journal, and Louisville Public Media.