[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KWEISI MFUME

                                 ______


                               speech of

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 1996

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with mixed feelings of joy and 
sadness as we honor our good friend and colleague Kweisi Mfume. I am 
saddened to lose our esteemed colleague as a relentless advocate in 
Congress for the poor and disadvantaged, yet I am so pleased and proud 
that a man of such leadership, courage, dignity, and vision will now 
guide the NAACP to marvelous new heights.
  Congressman Mfume has spent most of the last 10 years representing an 
area I know very well--the city in which my father, Thomas D'Alesandro, 
once served as mayor and as Member of Congress. Kweisi and I were both 
born and raised in Baltimore and had the good fortune to learn at the 
feet of some of the Nation's finest Democrats. While I moved to San 
Francisco, Congressman Mfume remained to represent the interests of 
those living in Maryland's Seventh Congressional District, which 
includes some of Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods.
  Kweisi Mfume is the best possible role model for the youth he has 
worked to assist because he has experienced the challenges of life's 
adversity and knows that it is possible to triumph. After surviving 
difficulties in his childhood, he adopted not only a new name but a new 
way of life, completing his education, achieving popularity for his 
outspoken views as a radio talk show host, then winning a seat on the 
Baltimore City Council to promote the causes of the poor and 
disadvantaged living in distressed communities. In 1986, he was elected 
to Congress to continue his good work on Baltimore's behalf.
  The limited time we have on the floor today is not nearly enough to 
list this member's many accomplishments and successes. We all know that 
Congressman Mfume has been a tireless advocate and a national leader 
for minority business development and civil rights legislation. His 
voice is always clearly and eloquently heard in defense of the rights 
and needs of children, people of color, the poor, the elderly, and the 
disabled--people who do not often have access to the halls of power.
  During his impressive term as the leader of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, Kweisi's style was to build coalitions, not to tear them down. 
He was instrumental in shaping the caucus into the formidable force 
that it is.
  At the announcement of his selection as president and CEO of the 
NAACP, A. Leon Higginbotham said that Congressman Mfume ``combined the 
brilliance of W.E.B. Dubois, the eloquence of Martin Luther King, the 
toughness of Thurgood Marshall, and the caring of Harriet Tubman.'' 
This great and natural leader could receive no more fitting tribute.
  The name Kweisi means conquering son of kings. He has conquered 
everything he has sought to achieve in this Congress. Now he is moving 
on, not to conquer, but to bring together the people of our Nation and 
to continue to fight for the causes in which he believes. I join with 
his many, many friends, family, and colleagues in this body in bidding 
him farewell and wishing our friend good luck and great success in his 
new and very important endeavor. We look forward to working with him in 
his new capacity as president of the NAACP.

                          ____________________