A life member of the NAACP, Clyburn has actively worked to support the principles of inclusion upon which the organization was founded. The Sumter native and graduate of South Carolina State University became the first Black to be appointed to the staff of Governor John C. West in January of 1971.
In 1974 he became the Director of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission and served in that capacity until he retired, in 1992 to run for Congress. Shortly after entering Congress, he was elected Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 106th Congress by a rare unanimous vote.
