Meeting Cynthia McKinney: a courageous African American activist detained by Israel for seven days

Last evening I had the honor of meeting activist and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who is in Washington, DC, after being deported by the Israel government who detained her for seven days, along with 21 other activists from 11 countries who were trying to deliver humanitarian donations to the children of Gaza, in Palestine.

Photo Carlos A. Quiroz

McKinney gave a brief report on her whereabouts during this second expedition that was organized to protest the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, where Israel is killing and expelling Palestinian civilians, with the support of the U.S. government. McKinney's expedition was organized by Viva Palestina and had a departure from Cyprus and she said her trip was known by the U.S. government before it even started.

Cynthia McKinney is from Atlanta, Georgia, and her family is being involved in African American politics and the civil rights movement for generations. Cynthia McKinley was a presidential candidate for the Green Party in the 2008 elections; she has been a member of the U.S. Congress for 12 years with the Democratic Party, and she is known for her strong opposition against the funding of Israel military machine by the U.S. government, and she denounced that the Bush administration knew in advance about the September 11 attacks.

McKinney has fought for the impeachment of Bush, Cheney and Rice before she was defeated with the support of the “Zionist lobby” as she mentioned last night. In 2006 she was racially harassed by a Capitol police officer who tried to prevent her from entering the building. Also she has asked for investigations on the hurricane Katrina response, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Tupac Shakur, the involvement of the U.S. government in the Congo war and also she has showed solidarity with leftist governments in Latin America as well.

During yesterday's presentation of McKinney, several attendants praised her for the courage and example she is leading for many. She spoke about her feelings on Israel, the Obama administration foreign policy, the Democratic party current leadership, the struggle of Black people in the U.S. and future plans in her political career.

She said that many Americans are afraid to speak out just because they fear losing their jobs and getting one less zero in their paychecks. A friend of mine in DC stated to me later that MOST African Americans like McKinney but they are afraid of speaking out.

I recorded a video of McKinney’s presentation, which I will post later in this blog. Meanwhile here is a video made by the Council of American-Islamic Relations on McKinney’s return to the U.S. at Washington, DC's National Airport two days ago:

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