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Kweisi Mfume
Official photo of Kweisi Mfume in 2020
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 7th district
Assumed office
May 5, 2020
Preceded by Elijah Cummings
In office
January 3, 1987 – February 15, 1996
Preceded by Parren Mitchell
Succeeded by Elijah Cummings
President and CEO of the NAACP
In office
February 20, 1996 – November 30, 2004
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
In office
1978–1986
Preceded by Multi-member district
Succeeded by Multi-member district
Personal details
Born
Frizzell Gerard Tate

(1948-10-24) October 24, 1948 (age 76)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse
Tiffany McMillan
(m. 2012)
Children 6
Education Morgan State University (BS)
Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Signature

Kweisi Mfume (/kwˈsi ʊmˈfm/ 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.

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.

Career

Reagan Contact Sheet C39364 (cropped)
Mfume with President Ronald Reagan in 1987

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)

Nelson Mandela and the Congressional Black Caucus
Mfume with Nelson Mandela in 1994

In November 1986, Mfume was elected to represent Maryland's 7th congressional district, succeeding fellow Democrat Parren Mitchell. He won re-election to four more terms.

Mfume 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.

NAACP

Mfume & Foward Meet for First Time at NAACP National Convention in 2017
Mfume and Dayton, Ohio NAACP President Derrick L. Foward meet for the first time at the NAACP National Convention, 2017

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 the announcement by Sarbanes that he would not run for re-election in 2006. The Democratic primary for this seat was held on September 12, 2006, and Mfume lost the race 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 such a run. 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."

2007–2020

Kweisi Mfume at DNC 0372 (27994325693)
Mfume with wife Tiffany McMillan at the 2016 Democratic National Convention

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 mid-2013 to mid-2018, Mfume was the principal investigator for the Health Policy Research Consortium.

Back in the U.S. House of Representatives (2020–present)

Elections

2020 special

Kweisi Mfume (MD-7)
Mfume during the 116th Congress

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 successor, 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:

Caucus memberships

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.

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

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