Honoring the life and legacy of Congresswoman Carrie Pittman Meek and commending her for her devotion to the Nation and its ideals.

Whereas Congresswoman Carrie Pittman Meek was a trailblazing advocate for equal rights, a loving mother and grandmother, a loyal friend and confidante, and a committed public servant to the people of the 17th congressional district of Florida; Whereas Ms. Meek earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and physical education from Florida A&M University while setting records as a track and field athlete; Whereas, due to a ban in Florida that prevented Black students from attending State graduate schools, Ms. Meek enrolled at the University of Michigan, where she earned a master’s degree in public health and physical education; Whereas Ms. Meek, granddaughter of a woman who had been born enslaved, broke a plethora of gender and racial barriers, serving as Bethune Cookman University’s first female basketball coach and the first African American woman elected to the Florida State Senate in 1983; Whereas Ms. Meek, while serving in the Florida State Legislature, passed a minority business enterprise law and other measures to promote economic growth, literacy, and school retention rates; Whereas Ms. Meek was a skilled legislator who was once called the conscience of the Florida Senate Whereas Ms. Meek was one of the first African Americans from Florida since Reconstruction to be elected to Congress, where she fought tirelessly to improve the lives of the constituents she served; Whereas Ms. Meek as a freshman in Congress intensely lobbied for a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, as her community needed her at the table in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, and with her charm and drive Ms. Meek was able to convince Speaker Thomas S. Foley of Washington to put her on the Appropriations Committee, where she worked to secure $100,000,000 in aid to help rebuild Dade County following Hurricane Andrew; Whereas, during her time in Congress, Ms. Meek earned a well-deserved reputation as a national treasure who devoted her life to Black communities in Florida and communities of color around the world; Whereas, despite her soft southern cadence and grandmotherly demeanor, the revered civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis of Georgia once said of Ms. Meek, We see showboats and we see tugboats. She’s a tugboat. I never want to be on the side of issues against her. Whereas Ms. Meek later retired from public office in 2002 and with her legacy as a fighter who broke down countless barriers, she paved the way for her son Kendrick B. Meek of Florida and later Frederica S. Wilson of Florida, who succeeded her in Congress and continued her legacy as a voice for the voiceless; Whereas Ms. Meek founded the Carrie Meek Foundation, which provides the Miami-Dade community with critical resources, opportunities, and jobs; Whereas Ms. Meek was awarded honorary Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Miami, Florida A&M, Barry University, Florida Atlanta University, and Rollins College; Whereas Ms. Meek was inducted into the Florida A&M University Sports Hall of Fame and honored with the conaming of its James N. Eaton, Sr., Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum in Tallahassee, Florida; Whereas Ms. Meek was honored with the renaming of Broward County’s Nova Southeastern College’s Outstanding Education Leadership Achievement Scholarship and Miami, Florida’s Northwest 27th Boulevard; and Whereas Congresswoman Meek passed away on November 28, 2021, and it is fitting that the House of Representatives recognize her for her exemplary career and contributions to public service, the people of Florida, and the American people: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) honors the life and legacy of Congresswoman Carrie Meek; (2) extends its condolences to her children and family; and (3) commends her for her devotion to the Nation and its ideals.

Summary: This resolution honors the life and legacy of Congresswoman Carrie Meek.