Six Term Congresswomen Cynthia McKinney – The first African-American woman from Georgia to serve in Congress. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. With a resume that included graduate work in international relations, McKinney's background fit her appointment to the Armed Services and International Relations committees, where she addressed government overreach, unacceptably aggressive and wasteful foreign/military policies, unaccountable spending and numerous strongly held human rights beliefs.
The outspoken Congresswoman, who sometimes held polarizing views on key foreign policy issues, lost her re-election bid in 2002. However, two years later, voters in her DeKalb County-centered district returned her to the House for another them, making her one of handful of Congresswomen who served nonconsecutive terms. McKinney became known by her unconventional attire, including her trademark pair of gold tennis shoes and her Mickey Mouse watch. Shortly after she entered the House in 1993, one reporter described McKinney as possessing “uncommon poise and a decidedly unpinstriped wardrobe.”
A member of the largest class of freshman women in congressional history, McKinney also was part of a newly elected vanguard of black Congresswomen, many from the South, who emerged from state legislatures onto the national political scene. Here devotion to work and her courage to stand up against the traditions of the mostly male institution impressed colleagues. “She's not a showboat, she's a workhorse, stands up to the old bulls, and is very strong in everything she does,” observed Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder of Colorado.
McKinney ran as the Green Party Presidential Candidate in 2008. Cynthia McKinney was born on March 17, 1955, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Leola Chrstion Mckinney, a nurse and James Edward (Billy) McKinney, a police officer, civil rights activist, and lontime legislator in the Georgia house of representatives.
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