Kweisi Mfume (/kwaɪˈiːsi ʊmˈfuːmeɪ/ kwy-EE-see uum-FOO-may; born Frizzell Gerard Tate;[1] 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.

A member of the Democratic Party, Mfume 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 being vacated by Paul Sarbanes, losing the Democratic primary to the eventual winner, Ben Cardin.

Upon the death of his mother, Gray dropped out of high school at 16 to begin working as many as three jobs at a time to support his three sisters.

In November 1986, Mfume was elected to represent Maryland's 7th congressional district, succeeding fellow Democrat Parren Mitchell.

Mfume made himself known as a Democrat with an apparent balance between progressive ideologies and a capacity for practical compromise, representing a district that included both West Baltimore and suburban and rural communities, though his primary goal was an increase in federal aid to American inner cities.

[8] In February 1996, Mfume left the House to accept the presidency of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), saying that he could do more to improve American civil rights there than in Congress.

[9] He reformed the NAACP's finances to pay off its considerable debt while pursuing the cause of civil rights advancement for African Americans.

[16] In the wake of his primary defeat, Mfume was believed to be considering running for mayor of Baltimore in 2007, though he had not publicly expressed interest in it.

[23] On November 4, 2019, Mfume announced his candidacy for the special election for his old congressional seat to fill the vacancy created by the October death of his predecessor, Elijah Cummings.