Mfume, Kweisi, 1948-

<p>Kweisi Mfume (born Frizzell Gerald Gray; 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. He 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 that was being vacated by Paul Sarbanes, narrowly losing the Democratic primary election to Ben Cardin. Mfume returned to his former House seat in 2020 after it was left vacant by the death of Elijah Cummings.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>In 1978, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council, where he opposed mayor William Donald Schaefer, whom he accused of ignoring the poor neighborhoods of the city. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986.</p>

<p>Kweisi Mfume is a former U.S. congressman and past president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was also named chief executive officer of the National Medical Association.</p>

<p>Mfume was born Frizzell Gray in Turners Station, Maryland, October 24, 1948, the eldest of four. His father, a truck driver, abandoned his family in Gray's youth. In 1960, Mary Gray and her children moved to West Baltimore, where they struggled financially. Education was segregated, and Gray recalled being confused about having to pass three schools on the way to his own.</p>

<p>In 1965, his mother died in his arms after battling cancer. Shortly after her death, Mfume dropped out of high school at sixteen to begin work as many as three jobs at a time to support his three sisters. Though the Gray children were parceled out among relatives, Gray felt responsible for the well-being of his sisters: Darlene, LaWana, and Michele. He also began hanging around street corners, sometimes with the wrong friends.</p>

MFUME, Kweisi, a Representative from Maryland; born Frizzell Gray in Baltimore, Md., October 24, 1948; attended public schools; B.S., Morgan State University, Baltimore, Md., 1976; M.A., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., 1984; assistant professor, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Md.; program director for a radio station; member, Baltimore, Md., city council, 1979-1986; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses and served until his resignation on February 15, 1996 (January 3, 1987-February 15, 1996); chief executive officer, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1996-2004; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Elijah Eugene Cummings, and reelected to the succeeding Congress (April 28, 2020-present).