Moments after House Democrats unanimously elected U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn majority whip Thursday, making him only the second black person to attain such a high congressional post, the South Carolinian told a story from his childhood.

Clyburn recalled dropping by his mother's beauty shop after school when he was 12 and talking with a friend of his mother.

"She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I started telling her about my dreams and aspirations because ever since I could remember, I wanted to be in politics," he said.

"When I told this lady this, she said to me, 'Son, don't you ever let anybody else hear you say that again.' Now, that lady wasn't throwing cold water on my dreams. She really knew that back in 1952, about the time this happened, a little black boy growing up in Sumter, having those kinds of aspirations, should keep those thoughts to himself."

Clyburn said his mother closed the beauty shop, returned home and had a word with him. "She said to me, 'James, don't you pay any attention to what that lady said to you. You hold on to your dreams. You stay in school. You work hard. You'll be able to fulfill your dreams.' My mother did not live to see this, but I thought about her today."

When the next Congress convenes, Clyburn will be the Democrats' No. 3 leader, counting votes as the party wields its new majority by trying to push for raising the minimum wage, supporting the creation of alternative fuels, improving access to health care, lowering interest rates for student loans and even making college tuition tax deductible.

"All these people talking about Democrats are going to raise your taxes, I can tell you right now that Democrats are goingto be reducing taxes for most middle-income Americans because we're going to make it cheaper to go to college. We're going to make it cheaper to borrow money to go to college," Clyburn said.

Clyburn's election to the whip comes more than a decade after former Rep. William Gray, D-Pa., the first black majority whip in the early 1990s.

Political success didn't come instantly to Clyburn. He lost a race for the state House in 1970 and then lost in his two bids for S.C. Secretary of State. Gov. John West appointed him to the S.C. Human Affairs Commission, an agency involved in advancing civil rights, and Clyburn said there he honed his negotiating skills - skills he will need as whip, which involves figuring out how members will cast their vote.

"The only way you can effectively do that (Human Affairs) job is to be a good negotiator and a good facilitator," he said. "Those were racially tinged issues I was involved in."

Clyburn said he was proud of his work with President Clinton to get a new federal courthouse in Columbia named for Judge Matthew Perry; his work in saving affirmative-action in the recent highway bill; and getting the Republican Congress to pass the Gullah-Geechee Heritage Corridor, which will provide $10 million to support the preservation of this coastal culture.

"Negotiating across party lines is nothing new to me," he said. "I have relationships across the aisle. I play golf with mostly Republicans."

When state lawmakers created the 6th Congressional District in 1992 to make it predominantly black, Clyburn defeated four opponents to become the first black in Congress from South Carolina since 1897. He hasn't looked back, going on to serve as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democratic Caucus.

Clyburn said it's more challenging to be a Democratic whip because the party is more diverse than the GOP and includes 42 black members, 21 Hispanic members, a half dozen Asian-Pacific islander members and about 41 conservative "blue dog" Democrats.

"My job is going to be to try to round up 218 votes out of a very diverse caucus," he said, "but I won't be limiting my search for votes to our caucus. I think it's important for us to fashion legislation in such a way that we can receive bipartisan support for it."

Asked how his new position will help residents back home, Clyburn talked less about steering spending to the state than about changing attitudes here.

"What I want to do with this position is demonstrate to South Carolina and South Carolinians and to people in this country that skin color ought not matter," he said. "My responsibility right now is doing this job in such a way that my three daughters and my two grandchildren will not just be proud, but that every single South Carolinian will say, 'I know a black person can do it because I saw Jim Clyburn do it.' "

Clyburn said he can work with Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, whose own election as Senate minority whip this week marked a political comeback. During a 100th birthday party for Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., Lott said the country "wouldn't have had all these problems" if Thurmond had been elected president when he ran as a Dixiecrat in 1948.

Lott later said he simply was flattering an old man, and Clyburn said he was in the room when Lott made those remarks and talked to him not long afterward. "We talked about the situation he had gotten himself into, and I think he was very contrite. ... I think he is somebody I'll be able to work with."

State Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, said Clyburn's ascent presents a tremendous opportunity for Democrats and for the state.

"In our state, we could benefit a lot," he said. "He represents one of the poorest districts in the country, and he also represents the busiest interstate in the country. He could bring wonders to the I-95 corridor and get major industry to come there."

Asked whether he harbored ambitions beyond majority whip, Clyburn, who is 66, said, "I don't know if I can see that far. I know this, I'm not planning to stay around here as long as Strom Thurmond stayed in the Senate. If anything else is coming, it better come quickly."

What is a whip?

The majority whip is the third­ranking position in the U.S. House.

Rep. Jim Clyburn will help House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer line up votes on major issues. This involves knowing House members well, developing their trust and being able to get a good read on how they plan to vote. The whip also has a series of subordinate, or regional, whips to help him keep count.

When Hoyer is absent, Clyburn may serve as acting floor leader.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.