Kweisi Mfume (pronounced Kwah-EE-see-Oom-FOOmay) West African translation: “conquering son of kings” o 1949 Born Frizzell Gray, Baltimore, Md. o 1976 Mfume graduates magna cum laude from Morgan State University. While attending Morgan he changes his name to Kweisi Mfume. He also manages WEAA radio, located on Morgan’s campus, and becomes an on-air radio personality. o 1979 In a grassroots election victory, he wins a seat on the Baltimore City Council by a margin of just three votes. o 1984 He receives his M.A., International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University. o 1986 Mfume scores a decisive victory for election to Maryland’s 7th Congressional District, a Congressional seat that he holds for the next decade. o 1996 He is unanimously elected by the NAACP’s Board of Directors as president and chief executive officer of the NAACP. o Author of best selling autobiography No Free Ride: From the Mean Streets to the Mainstream
MORGAN MAGAZINE
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