“We’re Going to Listen to Mama”

Their talk then pivoted to Clyburn’s family and their influence on many of his pivotal decisions. Clyburn smiled as he recalled his first contact with the former Emily English, two South Carolina State undergraduates who split a hamburger as Clyburn awaited bail for protesting. Yet what Clyburn believed to be serendipity was, in actuality, by design. Decades later, Clyburn discovered that Emily had spotted him earlier — with another girl, no less — and declared then that he would be her husband.

An accomplished activist and librarian herself, Clyburn cited Emily’s fastidiousness and attention to detail as indispensable to both his career and interpersonal relationships. In another anecdote, Clyburn was once oblivious to a “problem” a fellow churchgoer had with him until Emily brought it to his attention. Not only did she insist he discover the issue, but she also had the person’s phone number at the ready for Clyburn to call.

“She turned this little wayward boy into a United States congressman,” Clyburn attested.

Clyburn said that before Emily’s passing in September 2019, she advised him to endorse Joe Biden ahead of the impending presidential election. As Biden stumbled through the initial primaries, attention turned to South Carolina, and Clyburn consulted with his daughters Mignon, Jennifer, and Angela, on whether to heed their mother’s counsel or consider alternatives.

“All of them said, ‘We’re going to listen to Mama,’” Clyburn said with a smile.

Clyburn met with Biden and promised an endorsement if Biden would commit to appointing a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, an idea Clyburn gleaned from his daughters, who argued that such a pledge would galvanize their electorate. Biden complied, Clyburn endorsed Biden immediately after, and Biden proceeded to win the South Carolina primary, becoming the party’s nominee and eventually the 46th President of the United States.

“The day of that endorsement of Joe Biden that everybody thinks got him elected — and they give me credit for it, so I don’t deny it — [Emily] played a big role in that,” Clyburn said.

He did his darnedest to make this country’s greatness accessible and affordable for all.”

Service Beyond Self

Frederick concluded their conversation with a question on Clyburn’s decision to run for re-election this November. Now in his mid-eighties, Clyburn conceded that he gave retirement serious consideration, but encouragement from his constituents and children persuaded him that he still has much more left to give on Capitol Hill.

Clyburn said he remains in good health, maintains a rigorous schedule, and still plays 36 rounds of golf when possible. Plus, his pollsters say he faces no favorability issues among any age groups; his metrics among voters age 18-35 rank among the highest ever. Should Democrats regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, Clyburn sees his three-plus decades of expertise as beneficial to an incoming generation of leadership.

“With the possibility of having the first African American Speaker of the House if [Democrats] win the majority, the question is [with] the long knives that will be drawn, who can best protect him and make sure that he has success as Speaker?” Clyburn said. “The kind of experiences that will be needed to make sure, I thought I could offer.”

As for his own legacy, Clyburn is clear about how he wants to be remembered: in service.

“He did his darnedest to make this country’s greatness accessible and affordable for all,” Clyburn said. “I told [my daughters] I want that on my tombstone. They told me they’re going to do it — they’re just going to clean the language up a little bit.”

All photography by Simone Boyd/Howard University