Kweisi Mfume
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Kweisi Mfume
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| In office January 3, 1987 – February 15, 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Parren J. Mitchell |
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| Succeeded by | Elijah Cummings |
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| Born | October 24, 1948 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
Kweisi Mfume (born Frizzell Gerald Gray, October 24, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland) is the former President/CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as a five-term Democratic Congressman from Maryland's 7th congressional district, serving in the 100th through 104th Congress. On September 12, 2006, he lost a primary campaign for the United States Senate seat that was being vacated by Maryland U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.
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[edit] Bio
Kweisi Mfume (pronounced Kwah-EE-see Oom-FOO-may), was born, raised and educated in the city of Baltimore and it was there that he followed his dreams to impact society and shape a more humane public policy.
Forced to drop out of school at the age of 16 after the death of his mother, Kweisi Mfume quickly began the process of rebuilding his life. He enrolled in the Community College of Baltimore and became politically active as editor of the school's newspaper.
He went on to attend Morgan State University and graduated magna cum laude. He would later return there as an adjunct professor teaching courses in Political Science and Communications.
As Kweisi’s community involvement grew, so did his popularity as an activist, radio commentator, newscaster and on-air personality. He translated that experience into a grassroots election victory when he won a seat on the Baltimore City Council in 1979 by a margin of just three votes.
During his 7 years of service in local government Kweisi Mfume led the efforts to diversify city government, improve community safety, enhance business development and divest city funds from the then apartheid government of South Africa.
In 1984 he earned a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University where he currently serves as a trustee.
In 1986 he was decisively elected to the Congressional seat that he was to hold for the next decade. As a member of Congress Kweisi Mfume was active with a broad array of committee obligations. He served on the Banking and Financial Services Committee and held the ranking seat on the General Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. He also served as a member of the Committee on Education and as a senior member of the Small Business Committee.
While in his third term he was chosen by the Speaker of the House to serve on the Ethics Committee and the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate where he was later elected Chairman. As a member of the House of Representatives, Congressman Mfume consistently advocated landmark business and civil rights legislation.
He successfully co-sponsored and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, strengthened the Equal Credit Opportunity Law and co-authored and successfully amended the Civil Rights Bill of 1991 to apply the Act to U.S. citizens working for American-based companies abroad. He also sponsored legislative initiatives banning assault weapons and establishing stalking as a federal crime.
Congressman Mfume served as both Vice-Chair and later Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. During his last term in Congress he was appointed by the House Democratic Caucus as the party’s Vice-Chairman for Communications.
Kweisi Mfume became President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP in February of 1996 after being unanimously elected to the post and served there for 9 years. During that time he significantly raised the national profile of the NAACP while helping to restore it’s prominence among the nation’s civil rights organizations.
Mfume is credited with helping to raise over 100 million dollars in outside contributions for the organization while at the same time developing its national Corporate Diversity Project and establishing 75 new college based NAACP chapters. His five point program of advocacy included civil rights enforcement, educational excellence, economic empowerment, health advocacy and youth outreach.
In 2003 he negotiated for and successfully secured the NAACP’s official United Nations’ status as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) within that world body with all of the rights and privileges thereto and pertaining.
In 2006 endorsed by both the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA), he was a candidate for the United States Senate from the State of Maryland.
Mfume is a member of the Continuity of Government Commission funded by the Carnegie, Hewlett Packard, and MacArthur foundations and created to study and recommend reforms related to Presidential and Congressional Succession in a time of catastrophic crisis or in the event of a terrorist attack.
In 2008 Kweisi Mfume travelled and served as national surrogate speaker for the “Obama for America” Presidential campaign.
Kweisi Mfume was formerly a member of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, the Advisory Board of the Schomburg Center, People for the American Way, the Meyerhof Scholars Advisory Board of the University of Maryland, the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and the African American Advisory Board of PepsiCo.
He is presently a member of the Gamma Boulé Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity; the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Masons and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He also serves on the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees, the Morgan State University Board of Regents, and the National Advisory Council of Boy Scouts of America.
As a lifelong Maryland resident Kweisi Mfume is the proud father of five adult sons (Kweisi Jr., Kevin, Keith, Ronald, Michael) and one teenage son (Christopher).
His background includes 13 years in radio. For 9 years he hosted the award-winning television show, "The Bottom Line,” and for 5 years he hosted the nationally syndicated NBC - Hearst TV special “The Remarkable Journey.” He is the recipient of the 2005 Telly Award for best independent TV documentary. He has made appearances as a guest commentator on the ABC “This Week Program” and has been featured on 60 Minutes; the Today Show; Good Morning America; Meet the Press; The O'Reilly Factor; Hardball, Nightline and countless other News and Public Affairs programs.
Kweisi Mfume is the recipient of ten honorary doctorate degrees and hundreds of other awards, proclamations and citations. His former bestselling autobiography is entitled “No Free Ride.”
[edit] Politics
In 1978, Kweisi Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council, serving there until 1986. His political stance was against that of then-mayor William Donald Schaefer, who Mfume believed had ignored the many poor neighborhoods of the city. It was a contentious matter, but despite his strong opinions he learned the art of political compromise. He was perceived by many to have had some success during his stay in office, a fact perhaps reflected by his subsequent election to the United States House of Representatives in 1986 despite a torrent of criticism, directed in no small part against his early past.
Serving in Maryland's seventh district for five terms, Kweisi made himself known as a Democrat with an apparent balance between strong progressive ideologies and a capacity for practical compromise, representing a district that included both West Baltimore and suburban and rural communities, though his primary goal was an increase in federal aid to American inner cities. In his fourth term he was made chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
In February 1996, Mfume left the House to accept the presidency of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, stating that he could do more to improve American civil rights there than in the Congress. He reformed the association's finances to pay off its considerable debt while pursuing the cause of civil rights advancement for African Americans. Mfume served this position for nine years before stepping down in 2004.
Mfume is a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons.[1]
[edit] 2006 United States Senate race
[edit] After the Senate race
In the wake of his primary defeat, some have speculated that Mfume was considering running for mayor of Baltimore in 2007, though he had not publicly expressed interest in such a run.[2][3] On November 13, 2006, Mfume told a Baltimore-area radio station that "I don't have any plans to run for mayor. She [incoming mayor Sheila Dixon]'s worked for and deserves an opportunity to lead. ... I want her to succeed. I want the city to be united. I think at this point we owe her at least the opportunity to try to lead it."
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Kweisi Mfume at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Kweisi Mfume: From Boy in the Hood to Man in the House-And Beyond, Horizon Magazine, 1997
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Parren J. Mitchell |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 7th congressional district 1987–1996 |
Succeeded by Elijah Cummings |
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| Representatives to the 100th–104th United States Congresses from Maryland | ||
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| 100th | Senate: P. Sarbanes | B. Mikulski | House: B. Byron | R. Dyson | S. Hoyer | H. Bentley | B. Cardin | C. T. McMillen | K. Mfume | C. Morella |
| 101st | Senate: P. Sarbanes | B. Mikulski | House: B. Byron | R. Dyson | S. Hoyer | H. Bentley | B. Cardin | C. T. McMillen | K. Mfume | C. Morella |
| 102nd | Senate: P. Sarbanes | B. Mikulski | House: B. Byron | S. Hoyer | H. Bentley | B. Cardin | C. T. McMillen | K. Mfume | C. Morella | W. Gilchrest |
| 103rd | Senate: P. Sarbanes | B. Mikulski | House: S. Hoyer | H. Bentley | B. Cardin | K. Mfume | C. Morella | W. Gilchrest | R. Bartlett | A. Wynn |
| 104th | Senate: P. Sarbanes | B. Mikulski | House: S. Hoyer | B. Cardin | K. Mfume | C. Morella | W. Gilchrest | R. Bartlett | A. Wynn | R. Ehrlich |
