Member, House of Delegates, representing District 44 (Baltimore City), January 12, 1983 to April 1996. Speaker Pro Tem, 1995-96. Vice-Chair, Constitutional and Administrative Law Committee, 1987-92. House Chair, Workers' Compensation Benefit and Insurance Oversight Committee, 1989-96. Member, Savings and Loan Oversight Committee, 1986; Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, 1991-92. Vice-Chair, Economic Matters Committee, 1993-94 (chair, workers' compensation subcommittee, 1994-96). Member, Legislative Policy Committee, 1995-96; Spending Affordability Committee, 1995-96. Chair Emeritus, Maryland Legislative Black Caucus (chair, committee on economic development).
Chair, Governor's Commission on Black Males, 1990-96. Member, Maryland Comprehensive Transit Plan Transit Advisory Panel, 1998-99; Juvenile Offender Aftercare Assessment Team, 1999-2000. Board of Regents, Morgan State University, 1999-2019 (academic & student affairs committee; chair, audit & institutional assessment committee, 2014-19). Board of Visitors, U.S. Naval Academy, 2005-19. Board of Advisors, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Resident of Baltimore. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 18, 1951. Attended Baltimore City College High School, Baltimore, Maryland; Howard University, B.A. (political science), 1973; University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., 1976. Admitted to Maryland Bar, 1976. Attorney. Managing Partner, Cummings and Smith, P.A., 1976-96. Member, Maryland State Bar Association. President, Monumental City Bar Association, 1986-87. Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012. Chief Judge, Maryland Moot Court Board; Phi Beta Kappa; Outstanding U.S. Student Government Leader Award, Royal Arts Society of London; Major Achievement Award for Scholastic Accomplishment from Afro-American newspaper. President, Bancroft Literary Society. Board of Trustees, Baltimore City Historical Society, 2002-19; National Aquarium (Baltimore); Baltimore Zoo. Executive Board, Dunbar-Hopkins Health Partnership. Member, Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors. Friend of the National Parks Award, National Parks Conservation Association, 2005. Annual Achievement Award, Maryland Black Caucus Foundation, 2005. Award, Humane Society of the United States, 2005. Honorary Doctor of Laws, Morgan State University, 2006. Lifetime Achievement Award, National Minority Month Foundation, 2006. Founders' Day Award, Congressional Black Caucus, 2006. Friend of Radio One Award, Radio One, Inc., 2006. Guardian Award, Partnership for Drug-Free America, 2006. Brighter Vision Award, Seniors Coalition and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Alliance International, 2006. Member of the Year Award, National Narcotic Officers Associations' Coalition, 2007. Distinguished Graduate Award, University of Maryland School of Law, 2008. Lifetime Achievement Award, Friends of National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 2009. Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf Award, U.S. Coast Guard, 2010. Perry A. Lambird Memorial Excellence in Medicine Award, COLA, Inc., 2011. Thomas Kennedy Award, House of Delegates, 2011. Award, Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, 2012. Champion of Health Care Innovation Award, Health Care Leadership Council, 2012. Congressional Justice Award, American Bar Association, 2012. Phoenix Award, Congressional Black Caucus, 2013. Award for service to maritime industry, APL Maritime, 2014. Award, The Lab School of Washington, 2014. William Donald Schaefer Award, Schaefer Center for Public Policy, University of Baltimore, 2015. Champion of Consumer Rights Award, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, 2015. Howard (Pete) Rawlings Courage in Public Service Award, Greater Baltimore Committee, 2016. President's Award, National Urban League, 2016. Urban Visionary Award, Center for Urban Families, 2016. Pillar Award For Professional Achievement, Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, 2016. Defender of Democracy Award, Anti-Defamation League, 2019. Marylander of the Year, Baltimore Sun, 2019. Member, New Psalmist Baptist Church, Baltimore. Married; three children. Died in Baltimore, Maryland, October 17, 2019.
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