Emanuel Cleaver
Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and American politician who has represented Missouri's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005.
Emanuel Cleaver
Dianne Cleaver
Cleaver represents a district that primarily consists of the inner ring of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including nearly all of Kansas City and some of its suburbs in Clay and Jackson counties, including North Kansas City, Gladstone, Independence, Lee's Summit, and some of Blue Springs. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 2011 to 2013.
In his 10th term in Congress as of 2023, Cleaver previously served three terms on the Kansas City Council from 1979 to 1991, until he was elected mayor, serving two terms from 1991 to 1999.
Early life, education, and career[edit]
Emanuel Cleaver II was born on October 26, 1944, in Waxahachie, Texas.[1] He grew up in public housing in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, in 1972.[1][2] Cleaver then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he founded a branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference[3] and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology.[4]
Cleaver was the pastor at the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1972 to 2009.[5]
Kansas City councilman and mayor[edit]
Cleaver served as a Kansas City councilman from 1979 to 1991 and as mayor of Kansas City from 1991 until 1999.[3] He was Kansas City's first African American mayor.[6]
David Helling, an opinion columnist for the Kansas City Star, wrote of Cleaver's tenure as mayor: "Kansas City's first African-American mayor defined the modern concept of the job: a professional staff, high visibility and a clear agenda. He was also a moral leader. His speech at a local rally after the Rodney King verdict averted a riot and was his finest moment. Yet Cleaver's actual record as mayor is spotty. Tax and spending initiatives floundered at the polls, and City Hall scandal was common. The crime rate was far too high."[7]
Cleaver is a cousin of exiled Kansas City Black Panther leader Pete O'Neal. In 1997, Cleaver unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a pardon for O'Neal from President Bill Clinton.[8] Cleaver is also a cousin of the late Eldridge Cleaver, another prominent figure in the Black Panther Party.[9]
Political positions[edit]
Cleaver voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[23][24]
Personal life[edit]
Emanuel Cleaver and his wife, Dianne, have four children. They reside in Kansas City.[25]
In 2000, a road in Kansas City was renamed Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard. The new route consisted of Brush Creek Blvd., E. 47th St., and the portion of Van Brunt Blvd. south of 31st St.[26]
In 2012, Bank of America sued Emanuel and Dianne Cleaver and Cleaver Company LLC, alleging that the company had defaulted on a $1.46 million commercial real estate loan obtained a decade earlier for a Grandview car wash.[27][28][29] In 2013, the lawsuit was settled.[29] Cleaver's congressional wages were garnished to repay the money owed.[30]
In June 2023, Emanuel Cleaver officiated the wedding of fellow Democratic Congressman and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.[31]