SUMTER, S.C. — United States Congressman Jim Clyburn paid a visit to his hometown of Sumter Friday, stopping by Liberty STEAM Charter School in Sumter.
The school was previously known as Liberty Street Elementary when Congressman Clyburn attended.
“I try not to get too far from those basic things I've learned here in this community,” Clyburn says about his hometown. “The footprint of the building seems to be the same. It’s so much more that’s on that footprint now.”
Clyburn’s old school was originally part of Sumter School District 17 and primarily educated Black students from first through sixth grade.
“How do you run away from the fact that when I was growing up here in Sumter, I was subjected to stuff because of my skin color?” Clyburn, who was born in Sumter in 1940, shares. “You can't run away from that.”
But now, the school is working to model the community it serves. Liberty’s Vice Chair Dexter Davis says it has 60-65% Black students and 20% White students.
“And in our community, it looks that way. So our numbers come from what the community looks like. So we're really committed to having a school that looks like the community, but yet and still, education is a non-compromising mandate that you're going to receive an excellent, an excellent level of education,” Davis says. “We're working with scholars, our young people. No matter what your color is, you know, we want to learn for everybody. You can't deny any one particular person right? So we want to learn from everyone. And you can find out where everybody's coming from and that way you can learn to respect them and I think that's one of the biggest lessons from him being here.”
Clyburn took a three-hour tour of both Liberty campuses, and spoke with students, giving them advice about the importance of resiliency.
“When I walked in that building, I walked in those classrooms, you could feel it. And you know, these kids are getting the real, wholesome education that's going to be very beneficial to them for the rest of your lives,” Clyburn shares about his visit. “But they are going to to remember those things. I remember those experiences. They will too.”
Including the Community Culture Celebration where model students were awarded blue jackets for exemplifying the school’s core values. Clyburn himself received his own honorary liberty coat at the end, which Liberty Executive Director Trevor Ivey says is a tribute to his public service as a liberty alum.
When it comes to Clyburn’s observation of the students’ experience at Liberty during his tour, Clyburn says he is most impressed with “student participation.”
“Every one of these students, I watched them. I’m looking in their eyes,” Clyburn expands. “Watching these kids and I know most of them can't wait to get back to school the next day. And that's what it needs to be.”