Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Graham, Clyburn feted for racial harmony

WASHINGTON -- House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and Sen. Lindsey Graham, both sons of the segregated South, grew up in parts of South Carolina that were much farther apart than the mere 175 miles between them.

Tonight, the two men - a black Democrat from Sumter in the Midlands and a white Republican from the small Upstate town of Central - will share an honor that the Jim Crow laws of their youth would have prohibited.

The Columbia Urban League will present to Clyburn and Graham its annual Whitney M. Young Award in recognition of their efforts to advance race relations in South Carolina.

"Both Congressman Clyburn and Sen. Graham have demonstrated in their own distinct ways a commitment to social justice and equal opportunity for all Americans," said James T. McLawhorn, president of the Columbia Urban League.

"People don't necessarily articulate issues the same way, but when the dust settles, they're both of one accord when it comes to promoting basic rules of fairness," McLawhorn said.

Clyburn, 69, and Graham, 54, expressed deep respect for each other despite their pronounced political differences.

"Receiving this award is a great honor, and being so honored alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham makes it doubly so," Clyburn told McClatchy. "Lindsey and I share the philosophy that we must be able to talk to, and work with, those whose backgrounds and opinions may differ from our own. Common ground cannot be reached if we don't."

Graham said that Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, has already established himself as a towering figure in S.C. political annals.

"When they write the history of this state, Jim is going to be at the very top in terms of congressional influence," Graham said.

McLawhorn said Clyburn and Graham are the first elected politicians to receive the award, which is named after the man who was head of the national Urban League in 1964 when the landmark Civil Rights Act became law.

Leaders of the Columbia Urban League, McLawhorn said, made a point of honoring two prominent South Carolinians of different races in order to counter recent negative perceptions of the state over racial matters.

McLawhorn cited Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie!" yell as President Obama addressed Congress on health care reform in September.