(originally published in WWIB BALTIMORE | NO.2 | APRIL 2025)
PHOTO BY P. A. GREENE
Living Legend | Congressman Kweisi Mfume – U.S. House of Representatives
Shaping America’s Future One Policy at a Time
U.S. Congressman and Baltimore native Kweisi Mfume represents the city’s seventh congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He draws inspiration from local leaders before him who addressed problems head on by organizing protests and shaping policy.
“West Baltimore was very politically active during the Civil Rights Movement, and the community started this quest for equal representation in elected office. I grew up watching demonstrations and watching people bring about change,” Mfume said. “Whether it was the late civil rights attorney Juanita Jackson Mitchell, or the AFRO-American Newspaper, or Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, we all came out of the same six-block area,” he said.
An alumnus of Morgan State University and Johns Hopkins University, respectively, Mfume’s political journey began with a seven-year seat on Baltimore’s city council, followed by numerous advocacy roles in the community and nationwide. His initial congressional term spanned ten years beginning in 1987. In that time, he was Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, led efforts in partnership with Nelson Mandela to economically divest from South Africa during apartheid, and co-sponsored landmark legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
After leaving Congress in 1996, Mfume spent nine years as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), among other leadership roles at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Medical Association (NMA). He returned to Capitol Hill in 2020 to fill his former seat following the untimely death of Representative Elijah Cummings.
Being able to represent his home city and state is a great source of pride for Mfume. “I take service very seriously, and it’s the highest of honors to represent where I am from. I can’t think of anything else than to work and fight on behalf of my community and my people,” he said. Family also plays a central role in Mfume’s life. Despite the demands of his career, he prioritizes maintaining a balanced family life.
In his current tenure, Mfume remains committed to creating equity and is re-energized for the fight he faces in Congress. “These efforts by Trump and Musk to push things back are an insult. I’ve never been passive about anything, and I am putting a stop to the deconstructing of a society that so many have put their lives on the line to establish. If I were not [already] elected I’d probably be running for an office or organizing in the streets,” Mfume said.
After almost two decades in Congress, and a lifetime in shaping policy, Mfume is still passionate about his work. “I get up every day and go to Washington with the same zeal as when I was first elected to city council. The day you lose that, is the day you should step aside. I like the battle…and it is a battle,” he said.
When it comes to defining his political legacy, Mfume says he will leave that for historians to determine. “I do what I can to knock down barriers. Sometimes it takes the form of legislation or a principled movement. I would like to think that I have been a part of life as we know it in a very meaningful way,” he said.