McKinney, Cynthia Ann

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McKinney, Cynthia Ann

March 15, 1955

U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia Ann McKinney was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was educated at the University of Southern California, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1978, and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University.

Following graduation from college, McKinney was exposed to the painful sting of racism. On a trip with her father to Alabama to protest the conviction of Tommy Lee Hines, a retarded black man accused of a sexual attack on a white woman, Ku Klux Klan members threatened her. The National Guard settled the disturbance at the event. She decided then that she would enter politics.

McKinney was a fellow (studying diplomacy) at Spelman College in 1984. From 1988 to 1992 she taught at Clark Atlanta University and Agnes Scott College. Her career in politics began in 1988, when she was elected as an at-large member to the Georgia State House of Representatives. Her father, Billy McKinney, was already a member of the legislature and the two became the only fatherdaughter team in a state legislature. McKinney was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1992 where she quickly made a reputation as an outspoken, liberal crusader for the poor and rural citizens of her state. She gained notoriety with vehement arguments against Republicans on such issues as abortion.

McKinney's congressional district was redrawn prior to the 1996 election after being ruled unconstitutional, eliminating the black voter majority McKinney had enjoyed in her previous election wins. An overwhelmingly negative campaign between McKinney and her white Republican opponent followed, but McKinney won reelection for a third term, proving that a black liberal candidate could win in a white majority district.

In 2002 Democrat Denise Majette beat McKinney in her bid for reelection. McKinney had angered many with her comments that President George W. Bush knew beforehand about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and profited from them. In 2004 McKinney ran for her old seat in Congress and won handily over her Republican opponent.

See also Politics in the United States