"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke (1729 — 1797)
US Presidential Candidate, Cynthia McKinney, visits Leeds
Sunday September 9th 2007
The West Yorkshire Truth Campaign marked the sixth anniversary of the 9/11
attacks with a series of awareness raising events, culminating with our very
special guest speaker, Cynthia McKinney.
Former Congresswoman and US Presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, gave a
talk entitled "Confronting Empire" to an sizeable and enthusiastic audience
at Leeds Metropolitan University. The event, was organised in conjunction with ‘We
Are Change’ and was part of her European Tour.
Cynthia made history in 1992 when she became the first African American
woman to represent Georgia in the United States House of Representatives.
During her tenure, Cynthia won recognition as an outspoken advocate of human
rights, justice and peace, and will be standing as the Green Party
Presidential candidate in 2008
Cynthia speaks out against the loss of fundamental freedoms under the Bush administration. She became one of the first Members of Congress to demand a thorough investigation into the events of Sept 11th 2001, posing the question: 'What did the administration know and when did it know it about the events of 9/11?' As reports now surface that US soldiers are returning from Iraq and testing positive for depleted uranium, it is important to note her sponsorship of legislation to end the use of all depleted uranium weapons until their health effects are known.
The speech given in Leeds focussed upon those social movements and campaigns which "confront empire". Beginning with the civil rights activism of such groups, giving a comprehensive review of the events leading to the death of Martin Luther King, and showed steps taken by government agencies responding to a changing public feeling. Details were given also of her research into illegal, immoral and murderous acts by the US government, including unlawful surveillance, mind control and political assassinations. Cynthia left with the rallying cry for change to be effected. Leaving in no doubt that activism and unity is the answer to the perennial question of, how do we "confront empire" when the empire is out of the control of its people?
After drawing her remarks to a close she took questions from the audience.