Coming from a family that serves the public, her mother a nurse and her father a police officer, it was natural for Cynthia A. McKinney to enter into the family business. After a roller coaster ride in mainstream politics, the former Congresswoman could no longer follow the Democratic Party's growing reputation for lip service. Once her last congressional defeat in the 2006 election was official, McKinney left the party to embark on a Green political path more aligned with her crusade for truth and equality. Much like her police officer turned congressional representative father, James "Billy" McKinney, Cynthia's 12-year relationship with her constituents was contentious and her involvement with supporters was that of the sibling variety. People either loved McKinney or loathed her to the point of targeting her career for a 'seek and destroy' mission. Often labeled an opportunist and conspiracy theorist, some say McKinney's relationship with the public in general and the Jewish community in particular was the most strained.

 Cynthia's activism dates back to childhood. Born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 17 1955, McKinney credits her father's involvement in the civil rights protests of the era with developing the foundation for her public service. After earning a B.A in International Relations from the University of Southern California and a Master's degree in Law and Diplomacy from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Massachusetts, Cynthia became a high school teacher and later began teaching at Clark Atlanta University and Agnes Scott College. After a stint as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1988 to 1992, McKinney's congressional career began in 1992 upon her election to the seat of Georgia's newly zoned 11th and later the fourth district, which was rezoned to included Dekalb County. She served the heavily democratic zone until 2003 when a Republican crossover ploy put her out of office. The scheme successfully encouraged GOP supporters to cross party lines and vote against McKinney in the Democratic primary within Georgia state law, which allowed anyone from any party to vote in any party's primary, thereby electing her opponent who was easier to swallow. Because of the political chess game, the GOP was content to witness McKinney's concession speech while the Democratic Party was resolved to let her go.

 The political mainstream thought they had silenced the inquisitor, infamous for challenging Bush and Cheney's knowledge of 911 events as well as the Democrats soft stance on waging and funding an endless war. With McKinney out of office, no longer would the tough questions be asked or voter fraud be brought to the forefront. Now, political business could run as usual. However, like the boxing opponent who would not lie down, McKinney took her political licks but kept resurfacing with the thirst for truth as her motivator.  As a divorced single African American woman, Cynthia was not one to roll over. She reclaimed her fourth district congressional seat in 2004 after the victor of her last political battle decided not to run for re-election. McKinney returned to her post only to resume where she left off fighting for the rights of the multicultured, opposing election manipulation, and requesting the release of records involving the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, and Tupac Shakur. She also demanded an airing of the facts surrounding the handling of 911 and the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. Ever the seeker for accountability, McKinney presented a case for impeachment of President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for their misrepresentation of facts regarding the purpose for the Mission Iraqi Freedom and the War on Terror.

Up for re-election in 2006, Congresswoman McKinney won the popular vote, but did not attain the 50% needed to avoid a run-off. As a result, she lost her seat for the final time. After finishing out her term disillusioned by her party's lack of resolve, McKinney took up with the Green Party, a move that would take her political career on a new and exciting ride. In July 2008, former democratic congressional representative Cynthia A. McKinney accepted the Green Party's nomination for President and named hip-hop's Black Puerto Rican female activist and scholar, Rosa Clemente as her running mate. Set to cement the Green Party's legitimacy and continue where Ralph Nadar left off, the McKinney and Clemente ticket poised to seek the support needed to acquire federal funding and provide the American people with a real choice outside of the bipartisan tug-of-war that has defined American politics for generations. With a growing momentum that is focused on the issues, and looking to tie up loose ends from the recent past as well as forge a new path for a more prosperous future, McKinney and Clemente's brand of truth-seeking activism may give substance to the type of change the U.S. is starving to attain.

Like the pesky kid brother who wants to tag-along, the 200-year bipartisanship of the Democratic and Republican Parties gave little thought to third party politics. Originating in 1996 as the Association of State Green Parties, the ASGP, which gained big three status within the Third Party based on the voting performance of the preceding two election cycles and ballot access, wasn't afraid to take on the two goliaths of politics. With the gain of party recognition thanks to Ralph Nadar's Green presidential run in 1996, the ASGP offered an alternative to bipartisan politics. Commanding 2.7% of the vote across 44 states in 2000, Nadar earned a little over half of the 5% needed to land Federal matching funds. Nadar, who was not an official Green member, and the ASGP made a mark on the political map suggesting that there was a desire for something other than fraternal politics where only the  packaging differed and not the message. While it would be unlikely to find Ralph Nadar taking the oath of office, the group pushed to reclassify itself as a real contender in the political landscape by its attempt to capture Federal funding and a growing base of supporters.

Since then, the ASGP tried to continue its momentum first by reinventing itself into The Green Party of the United States in 2001. Then in acquiring numerous local, state and federal government seats across the USA, the group identified itself as grassroots activists, supporters of nonviolence, advocates for social justice and environmentalists. When Ralph Nadar moved on to run under the Independent platform, the Green Party found another spokesperson in their General Counsel and 2004 presidential nominee David Cobb. Unlike Nadar, Cobb attempted to gain political ground for the Green Party without causing threat to the democratic campaign; something Democrats accused Nadar of doing in his last Green campaign. As a result, Cobb earned just 0.1% of the vote or 120,000 votes across 29 states, losing ground from Nadar's 2000 campaign that launched the Green Party out of obscurity.

The Greens displayed its willingness to stand on stilts and wave a stick at the giant with the presidential nomination of the controversial African American former Georgia politician Cynthia McKinney and her Black Puerto Rican hip-hop scholar and running mate, Rosa Clemente. With plans of returning to what worked and adding a little ethnic nitro, the campaign of 2008 Green Presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney is a bipartisan threat by design. A notorious Bush critic and a former Democratic Congresswoman known for her abrasive honesty and pervasive views on race and gender in every context, McKinney symbolizes the Green Party's intent not just on swinging the stick but to make contact. Nadar's strong offense earned the first two and half percentage points toward political legitimacy, which contributed to filling 231 political seats by Green Party members across America, including California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. Now, the Green Party hopes McKinney's brash questioning of the political spin-engine, her political survivor persona and Clemente's intellectual hip-hop appeal will not only regain the ground lost by Cobb but will reserve a place card for the Green Party at the major political roundtable.

      Growing up in the pre-Disney video era, I never had much fascination with Mickey Mouse, his crew or his creator. In fact, I had practically missed the Mickey frenzy until I moved to the West coast. In the meantime, I was more interested in my dolls. I had at least eight Barbie dolls a few that looked like me and most that did not. It took time to amass my Barbie collection, the first one appropriately titled, 'My First Barbie'.  She wore a yellow bathing suit with blue trim. I was seven when she became my favorite playmate..  Three years later, I received my first black Barbie. She was a Day to Night Barbie. During the day, she wore corporate attire, but her clothes could be reversed to make her presentable for an evening at the theatre.  She was the first and only Barbie I named. I called her Valine and she quickly replaced the My First Barbie as my favorite. Not only was she beautiful but she looked like someone I could grow up to be.

       This is what Walt Disney has deprived little black girls of for decades. Finally deciding to rectify this deliberate oversight, or seeing an opportunity to pad their pockets with a segment of the population that is steadily growing more and more middle class, Disney will release its first princess movie featuring an African American girl in the most desirable role to be bestowed on an animated character. She will be Princess Tiana. While many of the details are unclear, her story will be told within the 1920's jazz era of New Orleans. There has been buzz of her being a chambermaid, but those speaking out against it have sent Walt's crew back to the drawing board. Confusion also existed over the nationality of her prince, as the little information that has leaked out suggests, he will not be African American. At first, he was to be Caucasian, however, the most recent reports state he will be Middle Eastern. The tale will not run short of the snobby rich white debutante and the rich white mogul. There was even talk of a black male villain, but that's up for revision too. Beyond that, Disney is being quite tight-lipped, probably in an attempt to give the skeptics as little ammo as possible.

          In a society of political correctness, Disney has received a lot of negative attention, at least within the African American community.. Many wonder why it has taken Disney so long to release an animated movie with black leads who were not villains or animals. One important possibility exists in the fact that minorities do support non-ethnic media while most of the Caucasian market does not. It all comes down to availability. With plentiful media aimed at Caucasian dollars, very little reason exists for Whites to crossover to the ethnic market. On the other side, with significantly less or in some cases no options in the ethnic market, minorities had no choice but to support what was mainstream.

        While they could not know the release of the movie might find our country months into the first African American presidency, the timing could not be better. Although the release of the movie entitled "The Princess and the Frog" is set for late 2009, the project was announced in late 2006 putting the search for Princess Tiana's voice in full swing. Disney granted the honor to Anika Noni Rose, supposedly beating out the likes of Tyra Banks, Jennifer Hudson, and Alicia Keyes. Rose has such movie projects to her credit as Dream Girls and Just Add Water.

      With their Asian Mulan, and Middle Eastern Jasmine, the company's attempts at inclusion have still fell short until now. Many will stand in wait to judge how Walt's crew will pull off this long overdue addition to the Disney Princess Sorority, knowing that this is about more than just a movie. If handled like the princess inductees before her, Princess Tiana will become a franchise unto herself, with the possibility of dolls, video games and other toys. With critics picking apart the very few details that have been released, Disney will have to scrutinize every decision regarding this film.

    Though many question the validity of animated characters as childhood role models, none can deny the extent to which animated movies influence children. They generally teach life lessons and encourage kids to dream. Additionally, they provide them with their own viewing material, when not much else is suitable.

    Regardless of the details surrounding why little black girls are finally getting their Disney princess, this is a great opportunity to change the associations of black versus white and good versus evil. Black girls will have the opportunity to look at the movie screen and think, "That could be me."

Minority cultures often struggle between losing themselves in assimilation or alienating their communities with acts that suggest separatism. The majority of society assumes that their rituals, morals and traditions should predominate because in terms of sheer numbers they dominate.  As a result, we have a historical discourse that features people of color as a footnote to the generational advancements of this society.

While race relations have improved compared to the experiences of our ancestors, prejudice and intolerance is a rippling undercurrent that taints our relationships and our social interactions, regardless of ethnic background. This state of existence is felt and read about in every sector of life.. It is a source of entertainment, ridicule and violence.

Most recently, I find myself bombarded by this as I interact in my romantic literary circles. In April, I attended two writers' conferences. At the first one, I was a minority face in the crowd. Many of the reactions I received in response to my multicultural/interracial platform were, "That's actually cool," and "That's interesting."  However, meeting an editor and a reader grateful for my platform made the time and money I spent worthwhile. The second conference I attended that month was Romance Slam Jam, an African American romance writer's conference. I felt like one of the girls in this crowd. It was nice to meet others who wrote interracial and multicultural romance as well as many talented women who wrote strictly African American romantic fiction. It allowed me to enhance the relationships I had been forming with many of these women online.

The separatism and assimilation question came up when I got back from Slam Jam. When I went to my local Romance Writers of America meeting, I reconnected with a few women who had been absent from the most recent meetings. I reluctantly told them about Slam Jam. They had no idea what I was talking about. The women, one Caucasian and the other Hispanic, listened with mild interest.  The woman of Hispanic decent began to show a growing interest as she asked if you had to be Black to attend. To be honest the question took me off guard because it highlighted the reason for my reluctance to discuss it in the first place. Of course, you don't have to be Black to attend, but it is a natural presumption that non-Blacks make. I'm not sure if it's because they think we don't want them involved or if it's because they don't really have an interest in being involved. Yet, it is expected that we want to be a part of whatever it is they are doing. In reality, we have fought long and hard to be included. However, the existence of separate but equal activities and organizations makes me wonder if our struggle has more to do with equal opportunity, respect for our culture and our existence as human beings rather than truly being involved in the activities of the majority. Many members of the majority say, "See, they are being separatist. They want us to include them but then they create their own organizations." This was never been clearer to me than when I stumbled upon the debate over the Black National Anthem. African Americans on the blog condemned it for perpetuating separatism. Many Caucasian bloggers agreed, stating this is America and a Black National Anthem was disrespectful. So much for being a melting pot of ideas. Can we be a part of the majority and still claim some things as our very own?

This notion confronted me again when I picked up the latest RWA Romance Writers' Report. In this issue, there was a quarter-page announcement for the recipients of the Emma Awards that took place at Romance Slam Jam. There was no information about the conference or the history behind the awards. The announcement also came three months after the awards ceremony, despite the fact that there were RWA representatives at the conference. Please note the Romance Writers' Report, RWA's industry member magazine, is published monthly. Hey, I guess better late than never, maybe they have really long lead times. There was also a very interesting interview about the experience of multicultural authors in the romance writing industry. It indirectly spoke to the idea of assimilation and separatism when famed author Beverly Jenkins spoke of the emergence of African American romance novels. It was clear that the publishing industry didn't think black female dollars were significant enough to warrant a book line catering to the life and loves of African Americans. Nor did they think it was necessary, after all black women have been reading about white love stories for ages. Isn't the point of these novels to provide fantasies and a glimpse into the lives we couldn't possibly have the chance of living ourselves?

These occurrences have lead me to realize that my multicultural platform is more than about people of differing cultures and persuasions living, loving and interacting with one another. I don't desire to create a fondue pot where the contents melt to create a blended product, but a crock-pot where all the ingredients of the stew are still distinct but the different textures compliment and coexist together.

Following a dream is not always easy, but for the courageous, it is a necessity. Pursuing a dream often requires paring down the extraneous details and focusing on the root of the desired result. Such was the case with WNBA star Becky Hammon, a girl from South Dakota with dreams of playing basketball on the U.S. Olympic team. A blonde-haired person with a beautiful smile and a strong belief in God, Hammon set out to make her dreams come true. She played ball throughout high school and college resulting in many honors. She played for the WNBA New York Liberty and most recently the San Antonio Silver Stars.

After eight years of professional play, at the age of 31, Hammon knew her chance to realize her childhood dream was dwindling. When she found herself absent from the 23 names listed on the National Olympic team pool, Hammon responded when Russia called. She signed a contract to play with team CSKA Moscow with the chance to go to the Olympics. After signing that contract and becoming a naturalized Russian citizen, Hammon will play on the Olympic basketball team for Russia.

Some view this as a betrayal of our country, citing that Hammon has no Russian ancestry and no other ties to Russia, therefore having no legitimate reason for making this decision. However, Hammon contends that her pride in America is unwavering and no matter whose jersey she wears, she will always be an American. It is through this choice that Hammon will live out her dream and possibly change the perceptions Americans and Russians have of each other. 

Sometimes the path to our dreams does not present themselves in the way that we expect. As a result, it becomes necessary to see beyond the norm in order to realize our dreams.

While not generally the type of multicultural story I write, it spoke to me on the same level. Thanks to the Internet and the global economy, the pursuit of our dreams and personal acceptance is not limited to the country in which we live. Regardless of our backgrounds, we are people. True multiculturalism is more than just race; it is religion, ancestry, orientation, generational and gender.

In order to have a true multicultural platform, we must explore it all. That exploration brings us a step closer to understanding the world's people.

It wasn't until I read the second half of the article that my writer fury erupted. The context was in reference to the infamous statement Michele Obama made about having pride in her country for the first time. The article reported Cindy's rebuttal which suggested her staunch unwavering pride in her country.

Pride stems from actions and experience. If you've done nothing, then you have nothing to be proud of. If you have not created positive opportunities and experiences despite the obstacles then again you have nothing to be proud of.

Being part of the African American community and being female, I can understand why Michele may not have always been proud of her country. If I were a rich member of society's majority, I might not ever recall a time I lacked pride for my country. However, any human being who has witnessed prejudice and oppression or even recognizes it as part of American history cannot truly proclaim ever-existing pride in the actions and experiences in which this country participates.

Is Cindy proud of the Iraq war and the lies that caused it?
Is Cindy proud of racially motivated brutality that still happens in America today?

It's interesting how we can put race aside when it suits our argument. The article made sure to inform us that Cindy is a rich, blond, blue-eyed Rodeo queen who knows when to speak and when to keep quiet. I would have had more respect if Cindy could have sympathized with Michele's comment since not everyone's American experience is Cindy's rich privileged experience. I don't want a meek first lady who can't recognize experiences different from her own.

We are just nine days away from marking the 143^rdanniversary of Juneteenth, the day, which represents the true end to slavery. Many think that slavery ended with President Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1^st, 1863, however, the slave's way of life continued in many areas including Galveston, Texas until June 19^th, 1865.

                 On this date, General Granger and his men rode into Galveston spreading, enforcing the word released from the executive branch of government that the Civil War was over, and the enslaved were free.

                 At that moment knowledge was empowering as numerous former slaves left the plantation to embark on a new way of life. They became the latest territorial explorers. As they moved to states such as Louisiana and Arkansas, many continued to uphold June 19^th, later affectionately referred to as Juneteenth, as a day of celebration. The cause for rejoicing was not limited to the end of slavery but also encompassed an appreciation for all cultures. Juneteenth honors where we have been and sheds light on where we were are going. It supports self-improvement through attaining education and building personal and moral character.

                 Akin to the nationally recognized Independence Day, Juneteenth represents the independence of African American people. The growth of these celebrations fell in step with several civil rights marches and although its popularity dwindled with the Great Depression, it resurrected with the civil rights movement of the 1960's.

                 Honoring Juneteenth is becoming a grassroots movement with events crisscrossing the United States and abroad.

                 Due to the inadequate and in many cases the blatant lack of Black history Education, pride of Juneteenth is just touching the consciously of many inside and outside the African American community.

                 With this article and through the efforts of such sites as Juneteenth.com, the honor for this day will live through us for generations to come.

Resources:

http://www.juneteenth.com/

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/juneteenth1.html