Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) announced the introduction of his National Council on African American History and Culture Act of 2026 in the United States House of Representatives. This legislation will create a 12-person National Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Introduce legislation to create a National Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Occurrences
This legislation will create a 12-person National Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) on how they can best amplify the work of Black creators, strengthen teaching and learning in schools to ensure Black history and culture is recognized and appreciated, and provide critical resources dedicated to preserving African American history.
The Council will prepare an annual report for the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which evaluates various programs and activities of the NEH to document the extent to which they are contributing to the preservation and celebration of Black history and culture. The Council will also: Monitor the work of museums and organizations dedicated to the preservation of Black history and culture; Gather information concerning historical developments and cultural trends in Black history and culture; Propose national policy recommendations...; and Make and furnish research and recommendations that the Chairperson of the NEH may request.
Evidence
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The official homepage shows recent congressional updates and legislative items through May 5, 2026, including funding and voting-rights statements, but it does not mention a National Council on African American History and Culture or related NEH legislation.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
Mfume announced that he introduced the Jordan McNair Student Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act in the House, showing active bill sponsorship on a separate issue.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
Congress.gov lists Representative Kweisi Mfume as serving Maryland District 7 in the 100th-104th Congresses and again in the 116th-119th Congresses. The member activity page lists 90 sponsored measures, but the page text does not show a National Council on African American History and Culture or NEH-specific measure among visible member activity.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
Congress.gov identifies H.R.3491 as sponsored by Rep. John Lewis, introduced November 17, 2003, and becoming Public Law 108-184 on December 16, 2003.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The law established a National Museum of African American History and Culture Council within the Smithsonian Institution, with duties to advise and assist the Board of Regents on museum matters.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
Mfume's official House site presents current legislative updates and press releases but does not identify introduced legislation creating a National Council on African American History and Culture to advise NEH.
unverified · Source version 55372 · locator unknown
GovInfo lists H.R. 7549 in the 119th Congress as introduced by Mr. Mfume on February 12, 2026, referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce, with the full title: to establish a National Council on African American History and Culture within the National Endowment for the Humanities.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The introduced House bill names Mr. Mfume as introducer and states that the measure would establish a National Council on African American History and Culture in the National Endowment for the Humanities, with duties including annual reports to the NEH Chairperson, evaluation of NEH programs, and policy recommendations.
Assessments
The promise was specifically to introduce legislation creating a National Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National Endowment for the Humanities. Official GovInfo records show Mfume introduced H.R. 727 in 2023 and H.R. 7549 on February 12, 2026, with text establishing that council within NEH and assigning advisory/reporting duties to NEH leadership. Because introduction, not enactment, was the promised action, this counts as delivered. The timing is later_term because the matching legislation was introduced during Mfume's later House service after his earlier congressional tenure.
The specific promise was to introduce legislation creating a National Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National Endowment for the Humanities. The available record does not show Mfume sponsoring or introducing that NEH-specific council bill during his House service. A related federal outcome later occurred when the 2003 National Museum of African American History and Culture Act created a council tied to the Smithsonian, but that measure was sponsored by Rep. John Lewis, passed after Mfume had left Congress, and did not create an NEH advisory council. That supports partial credit for a related later federal result, not full delivery by Mfume.
The promise was to introduce a specific bill creating a National Council on African American History and Culture to advise the National Endowment for the Humanities. The provided evidence shows Mfume has been active legislatively on other issues, but it does not show that he introduced this specific legislation, nor does it show a substitute measure, committee action, or later enactment traceable to him. Because the current record here is mainly absence-of-evidence rather than evidence the promise was definitively not pursued, the best judgment is unresolved rather than never.