Kweisi Mfume

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Kweisi Mfume (2005)

Kweisi Mfume (* 24. October 1948 as Frizzell Gerard Gray in Baltimore , Maryland ) is an American civil rights activist and politician . Between 1987 and 1996 he represented the state of Maryland in the US House of Representatives . He has been back in the US House of Representatives since 2020.

Career

Frizzell Gray attended the public schools in his home country and then studied until 1976 at Morgan State University , also in Baltimore. During this time he officially changed his name to Kweisi Mfume ("victorious son of kings") to underline his African roots. In 1984 he finished his training after studying at Johns Hopkins University . In the following years he served as an assistant professor at Morgan State University . He was also the program director of a radio station. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1979 and 1986, Mfume served on the Baltimore City Council.

In the 1986 congressional elections , he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the seventh constituency of Maryland , where he succeeded Parren Mitchell on January 3, 1987 . After four re-elections, he could remain in Congress until his resignation on February 15, 1996 . Mfume's resignation came after he was appointed to succeed Earl Shinhoster as CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nationwide association for the improvement of the condition of the African American population. He held this position until 2004. In the same year he ran in the primaries of his party for election to the US Senate , but he was defeated by Ben Cardin .

After Mfume's successor Elijah Cummings passed away in office, Mfume announced that he would run as a candidate for the Democratic Party in the by-election. He clearly won the by-election on April 28, 2020.

He is a member of the Federation of Freemasons ( Prince Hall Lodge ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of World Biography: Kweisi Mfume
  2. ^ Ex-NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume wins Maryland seat in Congress . In: AP News . April 29, 2020 ( apnews.com [accessed May 11, 2020]).
  3. ↑ Famous Prince Hall Freemasons . Retrieved January 15, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Kweisi Mfume  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Mfume, Kweisi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gray, Frizzell Gerard (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American civil rights activist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Baltimore , Maryland