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Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955 in Atlanta, Georgia) was a controversial former and future member of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia from 1993 until 2003 and the first African American woman to hold that position. She was elected in November 2004 to a new term beginning in 2005.

McKinney's political career began in 1986 when her father, extremely controversial state representative Billy McKinney, submitted her name as a write-in for a state house district. On the strength of the McKinney name alone she got around 40% of the vote, even though she lived in Jamaica at the time with then-husband Coy Grandison. In 1988 she ran for seat herself and won, making the McKinneys the first father-daughter legislative team in the nation. McKinney wore pants to the house, brushing off rules requiring women wear skirts or dresses. She first courted controversy in 1991; when she cried out against America's invasion of the Persian Gulf -- many legislators walked out in protest. In 1992 she was elected to a newly drawn majority-black district, in 1995 more controversy ensued the boundaries of her home district (Georgia's 11th) were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court because the boundaries were unfairly based on race (sixty-four percent of McKinney's constituents were black). McKinney countered that Texas's sixth district, by comparison, was deemed constitutional yet 91% of the constituents were white. More controversial moments ensued when she claimed that then-Vice President Al Gore had a "Negro tolerance problem".

A prominent Democrat, she was defeated at the polls in 2002 in part because of an interview on KPFA Radio (San Francisco) in which she allegedly implied that George W. Bush knew of the September 11 terrorist attacks before they happened and failed to prevent them. The story was picked up by The Washington Post.

When New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani turned down a $10 million disaster-relief donation from Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal after the prince made comments blaming America's Middle East policies for the September 11 terrorist attacks, then-Congresswoman McKinney wrote a letter to his Highness in which she asked that he send his check to a number of charities working on behalf of African Americans.

In 2002, McKinney was defeated in the Democratic primary elections by Denise Majette, then a DeKalb County judge. McKinney protested this result in court, claiming that Republicans in the mostly-Democratic district had participated in the Democratic primary to vote against McKinney in revenge for her anti-Bush stance. Georgia election laws do not require voters to claim a political party when they register to vote, so voters can participate in whichever primary election they choose. In addition to possible "cross-over" Republican vote, Democrats unhappy with McKinney's controversial statements and anti-Semitic remarks by McKinney's father may have contributed to her defeat.

Through 2003 and 2004 she toured America and much of Europe, speaking of her defeat, her opposition to the US invasion of Iraq, and the Bush administration. Although speculation suggested that she was considering a run for the Green Party nomination in the U.S. presidential election, 2004, in January of 2004, she declined a national campaign in favor of a Congressional campaign to unseat Rep. Majette. Majette subsequently became a candidate to replace retiring Georgia Senator Zell Miller, and after successfully avoiding a runoff, McKinney won back her old Congressional district in November 2004. Unlike many representatives who return after 2 years, Democrats refused to give her back her seniority.

McKinney has a sixteen-year-old son, Coy McKinney.

External links

• Cynthia McKinney For Congress Official Site
• The Screwing of Cynthia McKinney
• Cynthia McKinney on Democracy Now!:

• Congressmember Cynthia Mckinney Under Fire: A Discussion with Georgia's First African-American Congresswoman - August 12th, 2002
• Progressive Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney Loses Controversial Primary - August 21st, 2002
• Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia Mckinney Speaks Out On the Unseen Costs of War - April 16th, 2003
• Fmr. Rep. Cynthia McKinney Seeking to Win Back Georgia Seat - July 19th, 2004

• 1955 births
• Georgia politicians
• Members of the U.S. House of Representatives
• African Americans