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ETV's "The Big Picture" to Profile Congressman James E. Clyburn

Program Airs Statewide on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

For Immediate Release
September 27, 2007

Columbia, SC...On Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m., ETV’s “The Big Picture” presents “Clyburn of South Carolina,” a documentary spotlighting the career of Majority Whip James E. Clyburn.  Encore presentations air on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.

This 30-minute program is a revealing exploration of the life of a college-student-turned-civil-rights-activist who would become the nation’s third-most-powerful person in Congress.  From his failed bids for state office to his appointment as director of the SC Human Affairs Commission to his impassioned defense of the Lake Marion bridge proposal some have dubbed “The Bridge to Nowhere,” viewers will be treated to a picture of a man whose groundbreaking accomplishments have earned the respect of a nation.

Clyburn said one of the primary motivations behind his career was changing how blacks are perceived in America:"(I wanted) to prove that black people could run state agencies in South Carolina.  And when I got elected to Congress, I set out to prove that a black person could be an effective congressman and represent the people of South Carolina.   That's why I conduct myself the way I do, because I want to destroy every single myth that exists about black people.”

Also included in the broadcast is a warm-hearted moment with his wife Emily, who tells the "hamburger story" -- a pivotal moment in the beginning of their relationship when she visited the jail and shared a hamburger with a famished Clyburn who had been arrested during an Orangeburg sit-in demonstration.  Viewers will also see how the Congressman combined his two passions -- his alma mater and golf -- into an annual fundraiser-tournament that provides scholarships to students at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg.

Punctuating the production are interviews with mentors, colleagues and friends including:

• James B. Edwards, former SC Governor
• Richard W. Riley, former SC Governor
• Matthew J. Perry, Jr., Senior U.S. District Judge
• Kay Patterson, Senator, D-Richland
• James L. Felder, former SC House Member
• Herbert U. Fielding, former SC House Member
• William “Bill” Clyburn, Representative, D-Aiken
• Henry E. Brown, Jr., Representative, R-Sixth Congressional District

South Carolina ETV is the state's public educational broadcasting network with 11 television and eight radio transmitters, and a multi-media educational system in more than 2,500 schools, colleges, businesses and government agencies. Using television, radio and the web, SCETV's mission is to enrich lives by educating children, informing and connecting citizens, celebrating our culture and environment and instilling the joy of learning.

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For more information, contact Rob Schaller at (803) 737-6556 or rschaller@scetv.org.