In a new book, Rep. Jim Clyburn highlights the Black politicians who paved the way for him

"Eight others, largely erased from public discourse, served during and after Reconstruction, clearing a path that made his tenure possible. A framed image of the eight's portraits hangs in his office. Over the years, Clyburn says that image sparked what ultimately led him to write The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation. The book, which was published this month, restores these men to the historical record and draws lessons from their lives."

"One of the most important figures in the book is Robert Smalls, born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1862, while working aboard the Confederate transport ship Planter, Smalls seized an opportunity: he smuggled his family among the crew, commandeered the vessel and delivered it to Union forces in Charleston Harbor. "While he was on that waterfront, people noticed that he had leadership skills," Clyburn said."

""Well, one day when they were gone, Smalls smuggled his wife onto the ship and took off," Clyburn recalled of Smalls' escape and the daring start to his political career. "His reward was his freedom. Everybody on the ship got their freedom and he got 1500 bucks in cash," Clyburn said. "And he [Smalls] became the first African American captain in the U.S. Navy.""

Jim Clyburn has spent more than three decades in Congress and insists he is not the first Black congressman from South Carolina. Eight Black men served from the state during and after Reconstruction, largely erased from public discourse, and their service helped clear a path for later Black political leadership. A framed image of those eight portraits hangs in Clyburn's office and inspired efforts to restore them to the historical record and draw lessons from their lives. Robert Smalls, born into slavery, seized the Confederate ship Planter in 1862, delivered it to Union forces, won freedom, cash, and became the first African American captain in the U.S. Navy.

Read at www.npr.org