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

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Florida's 17th congressional district Florida's 17th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress, located in Southwest Florida. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was shrunk to only include the coastal counties of Sarasota and Charlotte as well ...

, from 1993 to 2003. Having been elected in the September 1992 primary with no general election opponent, she was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

since the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

elected to represent Florida in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

, where she advocated for the poor and for members of

minority group The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

s. 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 of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopt ...

, from 1982 to 1992 in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

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

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. 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 capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

, 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 with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

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 historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

(a historically black university 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 admitted to graduate schools in Florida, so Meek enrolled in the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

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, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

. Following that, she taught at her alma mater, Florida A&M University. Meek moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

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

Miami-Dade Community College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College S ...

. 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, 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 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 monitoring them. The term ...

. 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 m ...

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

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

, 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 very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged o ...

's devastation. Her efforts as the only freshman Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee 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 (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

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

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

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 state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

that George W. Bush 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 politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...

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 who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2011. After serving in both houses of the Florida Legislature, Meek was elected to Congress in the 2002 election to s ...

, 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, Lucia Davis-Raiford and Sheila Davis, 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 emph ...

sorority, and an honorary member of Iota Phi Lambda 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 research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

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 within the territory of the Archdiocese of Mia ...

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-c ...

, and

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

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 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida African-American women in politics 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