USC Sumter to Host Congressman Jim Clyburn for Annual Constitution Day Lecture

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SUMTER, SC (08/30/2017) Assistant Democratic Leader in the United States House of Representatives James E. (Jim) Clyburn will present the annual Constitution Day lecture at the University of South Carolina Sumter on Tuesday, September 19, 2017.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the USC Sumter Arts and Letters Lecture Hall and will last approximately one hour.

Clyburn began his professional career as a public school teacher in Charleston, South Carolina. Before being elected to Congress he directed two community development programs, served on the staff of a South Carolina Governor, and ran a state agency under four South Carolina Governors - two Democrats and two Republicans. His memoir, Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black, was published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2015. It has been described ‎as a primer that should be read by every student interested in pursuing a career in public service.

"As a former teacher and lifelong student of history, I look forward to speaking with the students at the University of South Carolina Sumter on Constitution Day next month," Representative Clyburn said. "The promise of America is as valid as it ever was; the American dream is still worthy of pursuit; and the creation of a 'more perfect union' must always be our goal."

Clyburn is a passionate supporter of historic preservation and restoration programs. His initiatives have restored scores of historic buildings and sites on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities. His legislation created the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. He authored legislation that elevated the Congaree National Monument to a National Park, and he proposed model legislation for President Obama's proclamation which established the Reconstruction Era National Monument in South Carolina's Low-Country.

The Constitution Day event is free and open to the public. The first 100 attendees will receive a free pocket Constitution.