Kweisi Mfume

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Early life and education

Mfume was born as Frizzell Gerard Tate<ref name="tate"/> in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 24, 1948, the eldest of four. As a child, his surname was changed to Gray after his stepfather, a truck driver who abandoned his family in Gray's youth. Upon the death of his mother, Gray dropped out of high school at 16 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.

He changed his name to Kweisi Mfume in the early 1970s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In his 1996 autobiography, No Free Ride, Mfume wrote 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 teenage years. He has since adopted another child.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mfume received a Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University in 1976 and a Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early career

File:Reagan Contact Sheet C39364 (cropped).jpg
Mfume with President Ronald Reagan in 1987

In 1978, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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)

File:Nelson Mandela and the Congressional Black Caucus (cropped).jpg
Mfume with Nelson Mandela in 1994

In November 1986, Mfume was elected to represent Template:Ushr, 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Post-congressional career

NAACP

File:Mfume & Foward Meet for First Time at NAACP National Convention in 2017.jpg
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mfume stepped down from the NAACP in 2004 after an internal investigation of allegations that he had sexually harassed female subordinates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He acknowledged dating an NAACP employee,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in May 2005 apologized for having had the affair while leading the organization.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The NAACP reportedly paid out $100,000 to settle Mfume's alleged improprieties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2006 U.S. Senate campaign

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

On March 14, 2005, Mfume announced that he would seek the United States Senate seat of incumbent Paul Sarbanes, following Sarbanes's announcement that he would not seek reelection in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mfume lost the Democratic primary for this seat on September 12, 2006, to U.S. Representative Ben Cardin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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

File:Kweisi Mfume at DNC 0372 (27994325693).jpg
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).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In late 2010, he was again rumored to be considering a run in the 2011 Baltimore mayoral election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He left the NMA in June 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

From 2013 to 2018, Mfume was the principal investigator for the Health Policy Research Consortium.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Return to the U.S. House of Representatives (2020–present)

Elections

2020 special

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

File:Kweisi Mfume, official portrait, 116th Congress.jpg
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 predecessor, Elijah Cummings.<ref name="candidacy">Template:Cite news</ref> 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<ref name="nomination">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="witte" /> and was sworn in on May 5.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2020

Template:See also

Mfume ran for a full term in the November 2020 race and won, defeating Klacik in a rematch.<ref name="candidacy" />

2022

Template:See also

2024

Template:See also Mfume won the general election with 80.25% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Scott Collier and Libertarian nominee Ronald Owens-Bey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Committee assignments

In the 117th Congress Mfume serves on the following committees:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Caucus memberships

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  • 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Mfume is a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

His first marriage to Linda Shields was from 1972 to 1975; it ended in divorce.<ref name="tate"/> In 2012, he married Tiffany McMillan, the granddaughter of Enolia McMillan, the first female president of the NAACP.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He has six children, including Michael Mfume, who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the 1992 slasher film Ax 'Em.

See also

References

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