Kweisi Mfume facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kweisi Mfume
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Official portrait, 2020
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 7th district |
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| Assumed office May 5, 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Elijah Cummings |
| In office January 3, 1987 – February 15, 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Parren Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | Elijah Cummings |
| President and CEO of the NAACP | |
| In office February 20, 1996 – November 30, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Rupert Richardson (President) Earl Shinhoster (Executive Director) |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Courtland Hayes (acting) |
| Member of the Baltimore City Council from the 4th district |
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| In office 1978–1986 |
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| Preceded by | Multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Frizzell Gerard Tate
October 24, 1948 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
Linda Shields
(m. 1972; div. 1975)Tiffany McMillan
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | Morgan State University (BS) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
| Signature |  |
Kweisi Mfume (/kwaɪˈiːsi ʊmˈfuːmeɪ/ kwy-EE-see-_-uum-FOO-may; born Frizzell Gerard Tate; October 24, 1948) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Maryland's 7th congressional district, first serving from 1987 to 1996 and again since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, Mfume first left his seat to become the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a position he held from 1996 to 2004. In 2006, he ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes, losing the Democratic primary to the eventual winner, Ben Cardin. Mfume returned to his former House seat in 2020 after it was left vacant by the death of Elijah Cummings.
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Early life and education
Mfume was born as Frizzell Gerald Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 24, 1948, the eldest of four. His father, a truck driver, abandoned his family in Gray's youth. Upon the death of his mother, Mfume dropped out of high school at sixteen to begin working as many as three jobs at a time to support his three sisters. He also began hanging around on street corners, which included being in the company of gang members.
In his 1996 autobiography, No Free Ride, Mfume said that he "was locked up a couple of times on suspicion of theft because [he] happened to be black and happened to be young." Speculation as to the degree of his entanglement with the law has varied, especially as he later came into prominence. He fathered five children with several different women during his difficult teenage years. He has since adopted one child as well.
Early career
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In 1978, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council, where he opposed mayor William Donald Schaefer, whom he accused of ignoring the city's poor neighborhoods. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986.
U.S. House of Representatives (1987–1996)
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In November 1986, Mfume was elected to represent Maryland's 7th congressional district, succeeding fellow Democrat Parren Mitchell. He won reelection four times.
Mfume made himself known as a Democrat with an apparent balance between 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. From 1993 to 1995, Mfume served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Post–congressional career
NAACP
In February 1996, Mfume left the House to accept the presidency of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), saying that he could do more to improve American civil rights there than in Congress. He reformed the NAACP's finances to pay off its considerable debt while pursuing the cause of civil rights advancement for African Americans. Though many in Baltimore wanted Mfume to run for mayor in the 1999 election, he stayed with the NAACP.
..... He acknowledged dating an NAACP employee, and in May 2005 apologized for having had the affair while leading the organization.
The NAACP reportedly paid out $100,000 to settle Mfume's alleged improprieties.
2006 U.S. Senate campaign
On March 14, 2005, Mfume announced that he would seek the U.S. Senate seat of incumbent Paul Sarbanes, following Sarbanes's announcement that he would not seek reelection in 2006. Mfume lost the Democratic primary for this seat on September 12, 2006, to U.S. Representative Ben Cardin.
In the wake of his primary defeat, Mfume was believed to be considering running for mayor of Baltimore in 2007, though he had not publicly expressed interest in it. On November 13, 2006, Mfume told a Baltimore-area radio station, "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."
2007–2020
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In March 2010, Mfume was named chief executive officer of the National Medical Association (NMA). In late 2010, he was again rumored to be considering a run in the 2011 Baltimore mayoral election. He left the NMA in June 2011.
In May 2013, Mfume was named chair of the board of regents of his alma mater, Morgan State University. He assumed the position on July 1, 2013, succeeding the interim chair Martin Resnick.
From 2013 to 2018, Mfume was the principal investigator for the Health Policy Research Consortium.
U.S. House of Representatives (2020–present)
Elections
2020 special
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On November 4, 2019, Mfume announced his candidacy for the special election for his old congressional seat to fill the vacancy created by the October death of his predecessor, Elijah Cummings. On February 4, 2020, Mfume won the Democratic nomination, defeating Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Elijah Cummings's widow. As the 7th is a heavily Democratic district, this all but assured Mfume's return to Congress after a 24-year absence. He defeated Republican nominee Kimberly Klacik in the general election on April 28, 2020 and was sworn in on May 5.
2020
Mfume ran for a full term in the November 2020 race and won, defeating Klacik in a rematch.
2022
Committee assignments
In the 117th Congress Mfume serves on the following committees:
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
- Subcommittee on National Security
- Committee on Small Business (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations
- Committee on Education and Labor
- Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services
Caucus memberships
Source:
- Congressional Black Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus
- Congressional Caribbean Caucus
- Congressional Ukraine Caucus
Political positions
Mfume voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.
Personal life
Mfume is a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons and Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
His first marriage to Linda Shields was from 1972 to 1975; it ended in divorce. In 2012, he married Tiffany McMillan, the granddaughter of Enolia McMillan, the first female president of the NAACP. He has six children, including Michael Mfume, who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the 1992 slasher film Ax 'Em.
See also
- List of African-American United States representatives
- List of African-American United States Senate candidates
