KWEISI MFUME
Name: Kweisi Mfume
Born: 24 October 1948
Kweisi Mfume - NAACP President and CEO
Kweisi Mfume became President and Chief Executive Officer of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on February 20, 1996,
after being unanimously elected to the post by the NAACP's Board of Directors.
Mr. Mfume gave up his seat in the United States Congress where he had, for ten
years, represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District, to assume the NAACP
presidency.Kweisi Mfume, whose West African name means, "conquering son of kings,"
was born, raised and educated in Baltimore, and it was there that he followed
his dreams to impact society and shape a more humane public policy. Mfume became
politically active as a freshman in college, as editor of the school's newspaper
and as head of the Black Student Union. He graduated magna cum laude from Morgan
State University, and later returned there as an adjunct professor, teaching
courses in political science and communications. In 1984, he earned a Masters
degree in liberal arts, with a concentration in International Studies, from
Johns Hopkins University.
As Mfume's community involvement grew, so did his popularity as an activist,
organizer, and radio commentator. He translated that approval 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 seven years of service in local
government, Kweisi Mfume led the efforts to diversify city government, improve
community safety, enhance minority business development and divest city funds
from the apartheid government of South Africa. Later, 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 broad 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, the Speaker of the House chose him to serve on the
Ethics Committee and the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate where
he later became chair.
As a member of the House of Representatives, Congressman Mfume consistently
advocated landmark minority business and civil rights legislation. He
successfully co-sponsored and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act.
He authorized the minority contracting and employment amendments to the
Financial Institutions Reform and Recovery Act. He strengthened Equal Credit
Opportunity Law, and amended the Community Reinvestment Act in the interest of
minority financial institutions. He 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.
Mr. Mfume has served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and later as
the Caucus' Chair of the Task Force on Affirmative Action. During his last term
in Congress, he was appointed by the House Democratic Caucus as the Vice-Chairman
for Communications.
Since assuming the position of President and CEO of the nation's oldest and
largest civil rights organization, Kweisi Mfume has raised the standards and
expectations of NAACP branches nationwide, and has worked with the NAACP
volunteers across the country to help usher in a whole new generation of civil
rights advocacy.
His six-point action agenda, which encompasses Civil Rights, Political
Empowerment, Educational Excellence, Economic Development, Health and Youth
Outreach, has given the NAACP a clear and compelling blueprint for the 21st
century.
Mr. Mfume was formerly a member of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis, the Advisory Board of the Schomburg Commission for the
Preservation of Black Culture, and the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard
University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is presently a member of the
Gamma Boule Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, 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, the Meyerhoff
National Advisory Board of the University of Maryland, and the Board of Trustees
for the Enterprise Foundation.
Name: Kweisi Mfume
Born: 24 October 1948
Kweisi Mfume - NAACP President and CEO
Kweisi Mfume became President and Chief Executive Officer of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on February 20, 1996,
after being unanimously elected to the post by the NAACP's Board of Directors.
Mr. Mfume gave up his seat in the United States Congress where he had, for ten
years, represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District, to assume the NAACP
presidency.Kweisi Mfume, whose West African name means, "conquering son of kings,"
was born, raised and educated in Baltimore, and it was there that he followed
his dreams to impact society and shape a more humane public policy. Mfume became
politically active as a freshman in college, as editor of the school's newspaper
and as head of the Black Student Union. He graduated magna cum laude from Morgan
State University, and later returned there as an adjunct professor, teaching
courses in political science and communications. In 1984, he earned a Masters
degree in liberal arts, with a concentration in International Studies, from
Johns Hopkins University.
As Mfume's community involvement grew, so did his popularity as an activist,
organizer, and radio commentator. He translated that approval 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 seven years of service in local
government, Kweisi Mfume led the efforts to diversify city government, improve
community safety, enhance minority business development and divest city funds
from the apartheid government of South Africa. Later, 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 broad 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, the Speaker of the House chose him to serve on the
Ethics Committee and the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate where
he later became chair.
As a member of the House of Representatives, Congressman Mfume consistently
advocated landmark minority business and civil rights legislation. He
successfully co-sponsored and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act.
He authorized the minority contracting and employment amendments to the
Financial Institutions Reform and Recovery Act. He strengthened Equal Credit
Opportunity Law, and amended the Community Reinvestment Act in the interest of
minority financial institutions. He 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.
Mr. Mfume has served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and later as
the Caucus' Chair of the Task Force on Affirmative Action. During his last term
in Congress, he was appointed by the House Democratic Caucus as the Vice-Chairman
for Communications.
Since assuming the position of President and CEO of the nation's oldest and
largest civil rights organization, Kweisi Mfume has raised the standards and
expectations of NAACP branches nationwide, and has worked with the NAACP
volunteers across the country to help usher in a whole new generation of civil
rights advocacy.
His six-point action agenda, which encompasses Civil Rights, Political
Empowerment, Educational Excellence, Economic Development, Health and Youth
Outreach, has given the NAACP a clear and compelling blueprint for the 21st
century.
Mr. Mfume was formerly a member of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis, the Advisory Board of the Schomburg Commission for the
Preservation of Black Culture, and the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard
University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is presently a member of the
Gamma Boule Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, 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, the Meyerhoff
National Advisory Board of the University of Maryland, and the Board of Trustees
for the Enterprise Foundation.