Kweisi Mfume

Kweisi Mfume, former national president and CEO of the NAACP and now a consultant for that organization, will be the guest speaker at the Pitt Black Action Society’s commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day tonight at 7 p.m. in Benedum Hall Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Politically active since college, Mfume, whose West African name means conquering son of kings, was born, raised, and educated in Baltimore. In 1979, he was elected to Baltimore City Council, winning by a margin of three votes. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1986, representing Maryland’s 7th Congressional District.

As a member of congress, Mfume served on the Banking and Financial Services Committee and the Committee on Education, was a senior member of the Small Business Committee, and held the ranking seat on the General Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. 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. In addition, Mfume was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and, later, caucus chair of the Task Force on Affirmative Action. In his last term, the House Democratic Caucus appointed him to be the vice chair for communications.

On Feb. 20, 1996, the NAACP’s board of directors unanimously elected Mfume as national president and CEO. A member of the U.S. Congress for 10 years, Mfume resigned his congressional seat to accept the NAACP position, which he held until Jan. 1, 2005. To help assure a smooth transition to a new administration, he will remain a consultant to the NAACP until July 1.

While president and CEO of the NAACP, Mfume was credited with raising the standards and expectations of its branches nationwide and known for working with NAACP volunteers across the country to help usher in a new generation of civil rights advocacy. He developed a six-point action agenda—which encompasses civil rights, political empowerment, educational excellence, economic development, health, and youth outreach—designed to give the NAACP a clear and compelling blueprint for the 21st century.

Mfume’s background includes 13 years in radio and nine years of hosting the award-winning cable television show “The Bottom Line.” He is the recipient of eight honorary doctorate degrees and hundreds of awards, proclamations, and citations. His best-selling autobiography is titled No Free Ride (Random House, 1996).

For more information, contact Sara Dadlani at 412-648-7834 or sadst41@pitt.edu.