"Dr. King: Confronting Power" will be the topic of Syracuse University's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Affairs Lecture, presented by former Rep. Cynthia McKinney and sponsored by the African American Studies Department. McKinney will speak Feb.12 at 7 p.m. in Shaffer Art Building's Shemin Auditorium. The event, part of SU's celebration of Black History Month, is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the Shaffer atrium.
McKinney was the first African American woman from Georgia to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served from 1992-2002. Previously, she served as a Georgia state representative from 1988-92.
McKinney earned a B.A. in international relations from the University of Southern California and a master of arts in law and diplomacy from Tufts University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate there.
Because of her service on the House Armed Services Committee and the House International Relations Committee, McKinney became known as an outspoken leader in the area of human rights and demilitarization during her tenure in Congress. She sponsored legislation to end the use of depleted-uranium weapons and to stop conventional weapons transfers to governments that are undemocratic or fail to respect human rights. She played a major role in forcing the United Nations to convene an independent commission on the Rwandan genocide and the role of the United States and the U.N. in crises in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
Legislation sponsored by McKinney extended treatment for U.S. veterans suffering from Agent Orange, and she led the Congressional Black Caucus' effort to support the Durban World Conference Against Racism. McKinney, a strong supporter of the Non-Aligned Movement, is now researching the future of political activism in America.
