Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC) joins TheGrio's SVP & Chief Content Officer, Natasha S. Alford, to reflect on history, power, and the fight to protect civil rights in a new political era.

Clyburn discusses his new book, The First Eight, which centers the often-overlooked Black congressmen from South Carolina who helped shape American democracy during Reconstruction—and the hard lessons their rise and fall still hold today.

He also weighs in on the current moment inside the Democratic Party, including debates around leadership and the future of the caucus, and offers perspective on Hakeem Jeffries as Democrats navigate growing internal pressure and Republican control in a second Trump era.

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