A Brief Biography of Cynthia McKinney (2008 Green Party presidential candidate)

Cynthia McKinney was born on March 17, 1955, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father was one of the first African-american police in Atlanta and her mother worked as a nurse for several decades. From an early age, McKinney was active in the Civil Rights Movement. After graduating from St. Joseph High School, she attended the University of Southern California majoring in international relations. McKinney continued her studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and became a diplomatic fellow at Atlanta’s Spelman College. In 1986, Mckinney’s father submitted her name as a write in candidate for state legislature in Georgia. Despite living in Jamaica at the time, she was able to secure 40 percent of the popular vote.  

Two years later she ran for the same seat and won a post in the state’s House of Representatives. By that time, her father was well established in the House of Representatives and they became the first father-daughter team to serve in legislature in Georgia. In 1992, McKinney became the first African-American woman to represent Georgia in the House of Representatives. In January 1993, McKinney led the Women’s Caucus Task Force on Children, Youth and Families and served on the Armed Forces and International Relations Committees. As she was interested in foreign policy, Bill Clinton handpicked her to attend the presidential inauguration in Nigeria.

             She faced a new political challenge when the district she represented was redrawn after 

deemed unconstitutional. She than ran for the seat in the 4th district and won in 1996. Holding on to 

her seat for two more terms, she remained active in foreign affairs. In the wake of 9/11, she wrote a 

letter of support to a Saudi prince who called the US government to review its Middle East policies. 

She received a lot of backlash since it appeared that she was agreeing with the enemy in a time of 

war. In 2002, she ran a tough race against Denise Majette which ended in her eventual defeat. Two 

years later, she regained her post and criticized the government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina. In 

2006, she faced another tough race against Henry C. Johnson in which, again, she lost. In 2008, she 

was selected as the Green party presidential candidate running against Democratic Barack Obama 

and Republican John McCain.

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. "Cynthia McKinney Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/cynthia-mckinney-377842>.