Carrie Mae Meek (née Pittman; April 29, 1926November 28, 2021) was the

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for

Florida's 17th congressional district Florida's 17th congressional district is an congressional district, electoral district for the U.S. Congress, located in Southwest Florida. In the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was shrunk to only ...

. She was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

since the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

elected to represent Florida in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. An educator, legislator, stateswoman and a member of the Democratic Party, she served from 1979 to 1982 in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, from 1982 to 1992 in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, and from 1993 to 2003, as a congresswoman in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. She was the founder of the Carrie Meek Foundation.

Early life and education

Carrie Mae Pittman was born on April 29, 1926, in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, where she was raised, the youngest of 12 children of Willie and Carrie Pittman. She was the daughter of

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

and granddaughter of a slave. Meek was a graduate of Lincoln High School. She remained in north Florida for college and was graduated from

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

historically black university Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

then known as Florida A&M College for Negroes) in 1946. Her degree was in physical education and biology, and she also lettered in track and field. At that time, African Americans were not allowed to be admitted to graduate schools in Florida, so Meek enrolled in the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and received her master of science degree in 1948.

Academic career

After graduation from the University of Michigan, Meek was hired as a teacher at Bethune-Cookman College, another historically black college in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

. Following that, she taught at her

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, Florida A&M University. Meek moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in 1961 to serve as special assistant to the vice president of

Miami-Dade Community College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public college located in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest institution in the Florida Colleg ...

. Largely due to Meek's integral role in the administration of the college during the push for its integration, the college was desegregated in 1963. Throughout her years as an educator, Meek was also active in community projects in the Miami area.Bade, Rachael,
In Memoriam, Former Rep. Carrie Meek
', Politico, November 29, 2021

Political career

Florida Legislature

When state representative

Gwen Cherry Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry (August 27, 1923 – February 7, 1979) was an American politician in the state of Florida. She was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 106th district. The first African-American woman to win election ...

, Florida's first woman African American legislator, died in a car crash in 1979, Meek decided to run in the special election to succeed her. She was elected to the Florida House as a Democrat. As a state representative, she introduced a bill criminalizing

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...

. She served until 1982. In 1982, Meek ran for a newly drawn state senate seat based in northern Dade County. She became the first African American woman elected to the

. As a state senator, Meek served on the education appropriations subcommittee. Her efforts in the legislature led to the construction of thousands of affordable rental housing units.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1992, a court-ordered congressional redistricting plan drew three districts with a substantial African American population that were designed to elect black candidates of choice to comply with the federal

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...

. Meek ran for one of those seats, the 17th district, which was based in northern Dade County. Along with

Corrine Brown Corrine Brown (born November 11, 1946) is an American former politician and convicted felon who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1993 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. After a court-orde ...

and

Alcee Hastings Alcee Lamar Hastings ( ; September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician, and former judge from the state of Florida. Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President J ...

, Meek became the first black member of Congress from Florida since Post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. Upon taking office, Meek faced the task of helping her district recover from

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

's devastation. Her efforts as the only freshman Democrat on the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...

helped to provide $100 million in federal assistance to rebuild Dade County. Also while in the House, Meek successfully focused her attention on issues such as economic development, health care, education, and housing. She led legislation through Congress to improve Dade County's transit system, airport, and seaport; to construct a new family and childcare center in northern Dade County; and to fund advanced aviation training programs at Miami-Dade Community College. Meek emerged as a strong advocate for

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an immigrants and senior citizens. Meek believed that her district was undercounted in the 1990

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

and that the votes of her constituents were not represented correctly in the 2000 presidential election. Meek and other members of the U.S. House of Representatives objected to the 25 electoral votes from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

that

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

narrowly won after a contentious

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

. Because no U.S. senator joined her objection, it had to be dismissed during the certification of the votes of the Electoral College by Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

while he was overseeing the recount that was his vice presidential role in the senate. Gore had been Bush's opponent in the race. Meek never lost a race for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives. She announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2002 election, and retired from the House at the end of her term in January 2003. Her son,

Kendrick Meek Kendrick Brett Meek (born September 6, 1966) is an American politician and current fossil fuel industry spokesperson, who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2011. After serving in both houses of the Florida Legislature, Meek was ...

, ran for her vacated seat and succeeded her.

Personal life

Meek was married twice. Her husbands were Lucius Davis and Harold Meek. Both marriages ended in divorce. She had three children, two daughters, and a son,

. Renown for liberal opinions, folksy yet powerful oratory, and colorful Republican bashing, once while discussing why she was a Democrat, she said, "The last Republican that did something for me was Abraham Lincoln". After her retirement from politics, she spent much of her time running the Carrie Meek Foundation, which she had founded in 2001 to provide resources and opportunities for those living in her Miami-Dade community. She stepped down for health reasons in 2015. She died at her home in

on November 28, 2021, at the age of 95.

Awards and honors

The Carrie Meek – James N. Eaton, Sr. Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum in Tallahassee, Florida, on the campus of

, was co-named in Meek's honor. She was a member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...

sorority, and an honorary member of

Iota Phi Lambda Iota Phi Lambda Sorority Inc. () is an African American business sorority. It was the first Greek-lettered business sorority established by African American women. It has established more than 100 chapters in the United States. It is a member of ...

sorority. Meek was also awarded honorary degrees by a number of institutions, including Florida A&M University,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is located within the Archdiocese of Miami. Th ...

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

, and

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

Electoral history

Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1992, write-ins received 15 votes. In 1994, write-ins received 11 votes. In 1996, write-ins received two votes. In 1998, the election was uncontested with no write-ins, so Meek's vote total was not recorded. In 2000, write-ins received three votes.

References

External links

* US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Carrie P. 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century African-American educators 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida 21st-century African-American women politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Delta Sigma Theta members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Female members of the United States House of Representatives Florida A&M University alumni Democratic Party Florida state senators Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Tallahassee, Florida University of Michigan alumni Women state legislators in Florida 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators Florida A&M University faculty Bethune–Cookman University people Miami Dade College Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century Florida politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature