Congressman Kweisi Mfume is presented a Presidential Citation for his lifelong commitment to advancing civil rights, expanding health equity, reducing gun violence, and protecting children from the impact of trauma and bullying.
Congressman Kweisi Mfume of Maryland’s 7th District is presented with this American Psychological Association Presidential Citation for his lifelong commitment to advancing civil rights, expanding health equity, reducing gun violence, and protecting children from the impact of trauma and bullying. His steadfast leadership in Congress and with the NAACP has improved the health, economic and educational opportunities for millions of people from marginalized communities.
Mr. Mfume was born, raised, and educated in the city of Baltimore and it was there that he followed his dreams to impact society and to help shape public policy. He graduated magna cum laude from Morgan State University and earned a master’s degree in liberal arts with a concentration in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University. Representative Mfume was first elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1978, where he chaired the City Council’s Committee on Health Policy and led efforts to diversify city government, improve community safety, enhance business development, and divest city funds from the then-apartheid government of South Africa.
In 1986, he was elected to represent Maryland's 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives, where he consistently advocated for landmark business and civil rights legislation. He successfully co-sponsored and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, strengthened the Equal Credit Opportunity Law, and co-authored and successfully amended the Civil Rights Bill of 1991 to apply its provisions 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.
In February 1996, Congressman Mfume left his seat in the House to accept the presidency of the NAACP, so that he could do even more to impact civil rights leading the NAACP. During that time, he significantly raised the national profile of the NAACP, whose work is rooted in racial equity, civic engagement, and supportive policies and institutions for all marginalized people. While there, Mr. Mfume established the organization’s Office of Health Advocacy to fight for access to and affordability in health care, increase the number of minority health care workers and end racial health disparities in diagnosis and treatment. His efforts to increase the organization’s relevance included pursuing enhanced civil rights enforcement measures within government and in the private sector, economic empowerment for all people, educational excellence and access to affordable healthcare in the most overlooked communities and establishing 75 new college-based NAACP chapters across the nation.
On November 4, 2019, Mr. Mfume announced his candidacy for the special election for his previous seat in Congress, which became vacant after the untimely death of Congressman Elijah Cummings. His recent congressional successes include passing legislation to address the longstanding need for diversity in clinical cancer trials by pharmaceutical companies using federal dollars (the “Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act”), codifying and tripling the budget of the only federal agency tasked with promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses (the Minority Business Development Agency), bringing back billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money to his Maryland District, and helped countless constituents with his constituent services efforts.
Congressman Mfume continues to ensure vulnerable communities are protected, working to lead the passage of bipartisan legislation that would protect older adults from credit card fraud and scams. The legislation, the Reporting Instances of Non-authorized Grift (RING) Act of 2023, requires creditors, including credit card companies, establish a phone line to help older Americans resolve billing errors and mitigate credit fraud.
As a fellow Baltimorean, I have witnessed my city grow and thrive through the work of Congressman Mfume. It’s my honor to present him with this presidential citation.