January 24, 2005

What's New in Bronzeville!

Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's public address at the 2004 WVON Pre-Kwanzza Celebration at the South Shore Cultural Center:

WVON Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration

Chicago, Illinois

December 19, 2005

I want to thank Cliff Kelly and WVON for inviting me to be with you today. WVON and Cliff Kelly show us the value of ownership. When we own, we don't have anyone telling us what we can and cannot do; what we can and cannot think; what we can and cannot say.

Ownership for black America is the order of the day. They also show us the value of leadership. Secondly, I want to thank the people of Chicago whose prayers, e-mails, campaign contributions, and travel down to Georgia to help in the campaign, sustained me during the long hours and travails of this past campaign. But I also need to say thank you for sustaining me during the two years after my election debacle. Some of you invited me to speak, others of you simply said thank you in a number of innovative ways, but in the end you were the ones who helped sustain me when the political pundits counted me both down and out.

During that time, however, I met even more people who think like us, whose politics is like ours. And they're not just in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, or New York. They're in Santa Barbara, California; Moab, Utah; and even Austin, Texas. It's time for us to know that ours isn't a minority opinion. Many, many Americans want a better America for us and the world. And so as I traveled the country during the two years that I was not in Congress, I was confronted with so many questions.

I was at a loss to explain why I was the first Member of Congress to question the Bush Administration's explanation of why America was defenseless on September 11th. I was at a loss to explain why Black America was not making progress commensurate with our political power as we celebrated over 4,000 black elected officials. And I was at a loss to explain where my colleagues were and why the wind blowing around me was so darn cold.

Before I left Congress, though, and after asking that question, "What did the Administration know and when did it know it about the tragic events of September 11th?" it is clear that we knew more after I asked that question than before. Due to the extraordinary work of some ordinary American citizens who founded the 9-11 Truth movement, before I left Congress we knew that:
* at least 6 governments had provided warnings of a terror attack to US authorities;

* the FBI had an informant living with two of the actual 9-11 hijackers;

* on September 10th, top brass generals canceled their flight planned for the next day;

* Salman Rushdie was banned from internal US flights and on September 10th Willie Brown received a tip not to fly to New York the next day as planned;

* John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial in July due to an FBI threat assessment;

* on the night of September 10th, George Bush stayed at a Sarasota, Florida resort where surface to air missiles had been placed for the President's safety;

Yet, on the day of the famed August 6th Presidential Brief in which Bush was warned that terrorists were determined to strike in the US, our President went fishing.

And despite the warnings from foreign governments, and the private warnings to certain individuals, no one bothered to warn the 266 people aboard the four commercial aircraft that were hijacked on September 11th.

And while I had been vilified for writing a three-page letter to a Saudi Prince decrying the conditions black Americans had to endure, what I didn't realize was that the Saudi Prince and George Bush daddy were business partners. And so, while the hue and cry over the letter was about one sentence where I acknowledged the words of Henry Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski about US rethinking its Middle East policy, no one except the National Association of Black Social Workers cared about the other two and-a-half pages about the plight of black America.

And care about the plight of black America we must.

As you know, Hull House released a report in November of 2003 declaring that it would take black Chicagoans 200 years to catch up to the quality of life enjoyed by white Chicagoans. Obviously, the 4,000 + black elected officials and the black electorate must employ a new strategy if we are to leverage our power into a significant change in the conditions of our community. And police surveillance of the Hip Hop community, the military and prison will not contain the rage and anger of a seething and growing underclass that is confined to America of color. Further evidence that the cold wind that blows around me also engulfs black America can be seen in the fact that the January 2004 State of the Dream report informs us that on some qualit of life indices, the black-white disparity is worse now than at th time of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In February of this year the New York Times revealed that nearly one half of all black men aged 16 to 64--and I had to reread that because that's darn near all the black men then in New York City--are unemployed.

In March of this year the National Urban League State of Black America reported that blacks enjoyed only 73% of the quality of life of white America; and that on the index of economics the number drops to 56%. That is, black America enjoys about half the economic security of white America.

Clearly, we black people have failed to utilize the correct political strategy to deliver our people as a whole from where we are to where we ought to be. And perhaps the reason why the wind blowing around me is so cold is because I'm angry enough about the situation to reason a new political strategy to take us into the promised land.

But it is clear, that however cold the wind is that blows around me, it's nothing compared to the Hawk in Chicago's black community that also sweeps down into every black community in America.

It was anger at seeing black man after black man after black man after black man sleeping on heating grates, under
bridges, inside building thresholds, on park benches--even along the Presidential motorcade--that made me write that letter to the Prince. And in typical American fashion, the point was missed and the facts cited ignored.

But I believe that America can miss the point and ignore the facts for only so long. With the proper leadership, the American underclass can become the soft underbelly of the imperial designs of the power elite. And the proper leadership must have
vision. A vision that takes us beyond where we are and just holding on. But we also know that without vision, the people shall perish.

And we're perishing.

The Japanese tell us that vision without action is a daydream and action without vision is a nightmare. Solomon tells us that where there is no vision, the people perish.

Therefore, our charge is clear: we must construct a plan based on a new political vision for our community; we must then work that plan, and then let that plan work for us. The last time we combined vision, action, and agenda we got the '54 Brown decision; the '64 Civil Rights Act; the '65 Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act. Since we've lost our vision and no longer have a plan we've got Bakke, Croson, Adarand, Shaw, Johnson v. Miller--my redistricting case, Hopwood, and Gratz. That's not to mention, Patriot, Homeland Security, Funding for the War on Terrorism Act and all the legislation passed in the wake of September 11th. And what the second term of the Bush Administration has in store for us.

So what does this all mean?

It means that after at least two generations of doing what doesn't work, we need to go back to the blueprint that we already have of what does work. And my experience shows that there are enough people who feel that way too, to form a movement. I think we have critical mass, but we don't yet have leadership giving voice
to the vision.

I have to thank Congresswomen Maxine Waters, Marcy Kaptur, and Barbara Lee for coming to Georgia during the primary and campaigning with me. I thank the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus who wrote checks to me and who are supporting my effort to regain my seniority and Committee assignments.

But honestly, I'll have to revisit the words of the late great Bob Marley who sang, "How long shall they kill our profits while we stand aside and look." We know that they are taking our authentic leaders away from us either one way or the other. We know that they are creating inauthentic leaders who look like us but who work for them.

And we stand aside and look.

We have infinite power--because we have the moral force of right. We lose that moral force when we fail to challenge the Condoleezas, Clarences, and the Colins when they act in ways that are antithetical to the community's good. I think the fundamental challenge for the Congressional Black Caucus and for all black elected and non-elected leaders is for their leadership in regaining a winning vision. Skirmishes around the edges, challenging Bush on this and speaking out against Rumsfeld on that are fine, but until we regain that winning vision and are willing to put our bodies on the line for that vision, we really are lost.

I think my victory demonstrates that people know that they are being tricked; they know they need an alternative leadership; they know that the media and the political pundits ard lying to us; and they know that we really can write our own destiny. Now we have to translate that knowledge into an overarching political strategy that moves the ball down the field and ultimately scores a series of touchdowns for us.

I look forward to being there in the Congress once again with the Chicago Delegation: Bobby Rush, Danny Davis, Jesse Jackson Jr, whom I call J3; and Barack Obama. And I hope together that we're able to help craft that vision and work that plan so that once again we can have a plan that works for us.

Thank you.

Biography of Cynthia Ann McKinney

In just nine years, Cynthia Ann McKinney, Georgia's first African-American Congresswoman and the only woman serving in the state's congressional delegation, has emerged as an internationally renowned advocate for voting rights, human rights and the strengthening of business ties between Africa and the United States. She is known as a passionate, intelligent, charismatic and effective member of the House of Representatives.

As a Georgia state legislator from 1988 to 1992, Congresswoman McKinney gained national attention because of her determined struggle for a fair and just reapportionment plan in Georgia. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives by a decisive margin in 1992, McKinney has continued that struggle. Her new district, the Fourth Congressional District of Georgia, was redrawn as a result of recent US Supreme Court decisions challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act.

Georgia's Fourth District is one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the southeastern United States. The district comprises parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties, two of the most dynamic and populous counties in the fifteen-county metropolitan Atlanta area. South DeKalb County is home to one of the most affluent African-American communities in the country. Likewise, Gwinnett County has consistently ranked among the top five fastest growing counties in the country.

Congresswoman McKinney's increasing influence on Capitol Hill was acknowledged with her appointment to the powerful and prestigious Armed Services Committee. She is also a key member of the International Relations Committee, serving as Ranking Member on its International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee.

For the last five years, the Congresswoman has been the House sponsor of the Arms Transfers Code of Conduct. This much-needed legislation, which aims to prevent the sale of US weapons to dictators, finally passed the House in June 1997. Congresswoman McKinney has also taken a leading role in promoting stronger diplomatic and economic ties with African nations. President Clinton invited Congresswoman McKinney to serve on the official American delegation to the inauguration of Liberian President Charles Taylor. In addition, President Clinton requested that McKinney attend high-level talks to open diplomatic ties with the new Democratic Republic of Congo. At the same time, she has assisted a number of Georgia-based companies in establishing and strengthening trade relations with African nations.

In addition to dutifully serving the needs of her constituents, Congresswoman McKinney has taken a leading role in Democratic politics. In 1993, the Democratic Caucus elected her Whip for Region 8, a leadership position covering the Democratic delegations of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. She was elected secretary of the freshman class by her colleagues in the 103rd Congress and was the first freshman representative to head the Women's Caucus Task Force on Children, Youth and Families. She has served as vice president of the Democratic sophomore class. Congresswoman McKinney is also an active member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus and works closely with the Hispanic Caucus.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 17, 1955, Cynthia currently lives in south DeKalb County. She earned a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California in 1978 and is currently working to complete her dissertation in international relations at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. In 1984, Cynthia worked as a Diplomatic Fellow at Spellman College in Atlanta. She also taught political science at Clark Atlanta University and later at Agnes Scott College, a women's college in Decatur, Georgia. Before being elected to Congress, Cynthia served on the board of the HIV Health Services Planning Council of Metro Atlanta from 1991-92.

Cynthia is the daughter of veteran Georgia State Representative Billy McKinney and Leola McKinney, a nurse of forty years at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Cynthia McKinney is the proud mother of a sixteen-year-old son, Coy McKinney.