Billy McKinney was a former American politician

Politics of the United States

The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...

 from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Georgia. Although McKinney served as a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives

Georgia House of Representatives

The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...

 from 1983 until 2002, he also ran as an independent for Congress and in 2008 he joined the Green Party and cast Delegate votes for his daughter's Presidential nomination. McKinney was the father of former United States Representative from Georgia and Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...

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McKinney was born in Abbeville

Abbeville, Georgia

Abbeville is a city in Wilcox County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,908 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Wilcox County.- History :...

 in Wilcox County, Georgia. He attended the Atlanta Public Schools and Clark College

Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...

, and was a decorated veteran of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. He was credited with integrating the Atlanta Police Department

Atlanta Police Department

The Atlanta Police Department is the law enforcement agency of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.The city shifted from its rural-based Marshal and Deputy Marshal model at the end of the 19th century. In 1873, the department was formed with 26 officers...

 and spearheading the efforts of the Afro-American Police League. Interstate 285

Interstate 285

Interstate 285 is an Interstate Highway loop encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for . I-285 is also known as unsigned State Route 407 and is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter. Suburban sprawl has made it one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States, and portions of the highway...

 ("the Perimeter") is known as the "James E. "Billy" McKinney Highway" between I-20

Interstate 20

Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...

 in northwest Atlanta and I-75

Interstate 75

Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...

 near Cumberland Mall

Cumberland Mall

Cumberland Mall, located in the Cumberland district of Metropolitan Atlanta near the suburbs of Smyrna and Vinings, opened on August 8, 1973 and was the largest mall in Georgia, United States, when it first opened.-Early years:...

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McKinney was known as a politician who did not shy away from controversy. In 1981, he acted as co-chairman of the campaign of Sidney Marcus

Sidney Marcus

Sidney J. Marcus was a Georgia legislator from Atlanta's 26th district, now the 106th district, who served in the Georgia General Assembly from 1968 until his death in 1983. He served on several committees: Health and Ecology, on which he was chairman; Ways and Means; and Rules. For several...

 for Mayor of Atlanta. Marcus was a prominent Jewish leader; his opponent was famous African-American politician Andrew Young

Andrew Young

Andrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...

. McKinney's choice antagonized much of the African-American community in Atlanta.

His daughter Cynthia McKinney had a long contentious relationship with AIPAC, and commentators such as Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Claud Cockburn is an American political journalist. Cockburn was brought up in Ireland but has lived and worked in the United States since 1972. Together with Jeffrey St. Clair, he edits the political newsletter CounterPunch...

 allege that money from out-of-state Jewish organizations (who were opposed to her stand on Middle East issues) was key in her election defeat. Cockburn also wrote that "Buckets of sewage were poured over McKinney's head in the Washington Post and the Atlanta Constitution". In 2002, when asked about his daughter Cynthia McKinney using an old endorsement in her primary campaign, he explained that the endorsement would not matter because "Jews have bought everybody. Jews. J-E-W-S." McKinney lost her congressional seat in 2002, regained it in 2004, and lost it again in 2006. In both losses, she was eliminated during the Democratic primary.

Death

Billy McKinney died on July 15, 2010 in his southwest Atlanta home after a long struggle with cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

at the age of 83. He was in hospice care, surrounded by his wife Leola and friends at the time of death.