GAINESVILLE - Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney - a lightning rod of controversy while a member of the State House of Representatives and the U.S. Congress - will speak in Gainesville next Saturday, November 22.
McKinney was defeated in a re-election bid a year ago in the midst of a storm of controversy over comments about the President, while demanding an investigation of the terrorist attacks.
She will be the keynote speaker at a banquet at the Gainesville Civic Center marking the 53rd anniversary of the Newtown Florist Club.
The florist club began in 1950 as a place where people in the Newtown community could turn for flowers in times of illness or death in their families, but has evolved over the years into a civil rights/environmental justice organization.
"We are very excited to have Ms. McKinney join us as we celebrate our 53rd anniversary, as she is the embodiment of the spirit that guides us," said Newtown Florist Club President Faye Bush. "In addition, we will also recognize a number of individuals who battle tirelessly for social and economic justice, but go overlooked."
McKinney insists that when she became one of the first members of Congress to demand a thorough investigation of the events of September 11, she was vilified and targeted by Georgia and national Republicans. In fact, an estimated 47,000 Republicans voted in the Democratic Primary last year, helping force her out of Congress.
As a result, McKinney filed a lawsuit against the practice of "crossover" voting in Georgia.
However, an analysis of the votes cast in her race by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution later found that McKinney would probably have lost the primary anyway.
Friday
October 18th, 2024
9:22AM
