Lincoln (Neb.) - Sept. 25, 2000 - Kweisi Mfume, president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will discuss leadership in the 21st century in a free public lecture next month at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His lecture will begin at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Nebraska Union Auditorium, 1400 R St.
Mfume became president and CEO of the NAACP in February 1996 after a unanimous vote by the association's board of directors. To take the post, he gave up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he had represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District for 10 years.
The former congressman has raised the standards and expectations of NAACP branches nationwide and has worked with volunteers across the country to help usher in a whole new generation of civil rights advocates. His five-point action agenda encompasses civil rights, political empowerment, educational excellence, economic development and youth outreach. He has given the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization a clear and compelling blueprint for the 21st century.
Mfume, whose West African name means "conquering son of kings," was born, raised and educated in Baltimore, where he became politically active as a freshman at Morgan State University. He won election to the Baltimore City Council by three votes in 1979, but seven successful years later, he was elected to Congress by a wide margin.
As a Congressman, he consistently advocated landmark minority business and civil rights legislation and successfully co-sponsored and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mfume's appearance is co-sponsored at UNL by the Nebraska Union,
Student Involvement/Culture Center, the Office of Academic Affairs and
the Office of Equity, Access and Diversity Programs; and by the NAACP
Lincoln Chapter, Southeast Community College and the Nebraska Department
of Education.
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