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 The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

, Meek was elected to Congress in the 2002 election to succeed his mother Carrie Meek. Meek was the Democratic nominee in the 2010 Senate election, coming in third behind Republican

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the ...

and independent candidate

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

Early life, education and career

Kendrick, the son of retired Congresswoman Carrie Meek (née Pittman) and Harold H. Meek, was born on September 6, 1966, in

Miami, Florida 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 ...

.Representative Kendrick B. Meek
" ''Florida House of Representatives''.Florida Senate Handbook 1998-2000
" ''Florida Senate''. He is the great grandson of

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctl ...

Horatius "H.H." Coleman, who was pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He graduated from Miami Springs High School in Miami, where he played football as a defensive lineman. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Criminal Justice in 1989 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 ...

. Meek was a star football player in college and also founded the Young Democrats at Florida A&M, later serving as President of the organization. He was also initiated into the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty a ...

fraternity through the Upsilon Psi chapter. After graduating from college Meek was sworn in as a trooper with the

Florida Highway Patrol The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws ...

and was assigned to Miami. During his four-year tenure, Meek, through his political connections, became the first African American to reach the rank of captain. He later served on the security detail for Democratic

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Buddy MacKay Kenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay Jr. (born March 22, 1933) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 42nd governor of Florida for 24 days from December 1998 to January 1999, upon the death of Lawton Chiles. A member of the Democratic Pa ...

and subsequently launched his political career.

Florida State House of Representatives

Meek served 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 1995 to 1998. While in the Florida House, Meek worked on various economic and social justice issues. This work culminated in building out a bipartisan coalition to provide compensation for Freddie Lee Pitts and Wilbert Lee, two African Americans who were falsely convicted of murder 35 years earlier. Nineteen different attempts to pass legislation in the state legislature were defeated by a traditional Southern Democratic faction of conservative legislators from the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the ...

. In 1998, Meek reintroduced the bill in the Florida House and successfully allied with Republicans to pass it.

Florida State Senate

From 1998 to 2002, Kendrick Meek was a member of the Florida Senate.

One Florida sit-in

Meek, along with fellow member Rep. Tony Hill, staged a sit-in protest in Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

's office in January, 2000.Joint Statement by Congressman Kendrick Meek and State Senator Anthony C. "Tony" Hill, Sr. Regarding U.S. Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling
House of Representatives The sit-in lasted for 25 hours, with the central issue being a newly implemented "One Florida" plan to end official race/gender preferences in state government.One Florida rules hit campuses
St. Petersburg Times Meek said he and Hill staged the sit-in after they tried but were unable to get "a meeting with the governor— two members of the Florida legislature. Then the governor came in and was barking at us as though we were children, saying that if we expect for him to rescind his

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

, then we might as well order some blankets and get comfortable, which we did." According to Tom Bearden, when Hill and Meek tried to meet with the Governor, "tempers flared".Tom Bearden has the Florida story.
PBS The two lawmakers and Bush ended the sit-in after Bush agreed to delay implementation of the plan. In February 2000, Meek said lawsuits might be filed to challenge university regents' authority to use the One Florida Initiative. "I thank God for using you to bring us to this point." Meek and Hill issued a press release on June 23, 2003, applauding the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for upholding the legality of affirmative action and criticizing Bush for his One Florida Initiative, calling for an end to the initiative in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, because the initiative has "only served to divide Florida along racial lines." Governor Bush pointed to the .3% increase in minority enrollment in Florida public-universities between 2002 and 2003 as evidence that the One Florida Initiative was working. Meek responded by accusing Bush of throwing out numbers to 'fake out' Floridians, telling Bush he had "better check those numbers two or three times. It's been a struggle for students of

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 ensl ...

descent. That's where the historical

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...

has been."

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 ...

is the only school that had an increase in African-American freshmen, from 17.2% freshman in 2002 to 18.9% in 2003.Bush: Minority Enrollment'Up Under One Florida
One Florida

Class size amendment

In 2002, Meek launched an initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida's public schools. The amendment would set the maximum class sizes of pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade classes to 18, 4th through 8th grade classes to 22, and high school classes to 25. It would also require schools to reduce class sizes by two students in 2003 and to reach full compliance by the beginning of the 2010 school year. Supporters of the amendment, including People for the American Way, Florida Education Association, and Florida

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...

, focused on large classes in many urban areas of Florida which had as many as 40 students: Meek said, " orthe first time parents will have a chance to vote on something they've always wanted and that is smaller class sizes." Then-Florida governor

and state legislature Republicans opposed the bill because it was unclear how much the amendment would cost: "While this may be a worthy goal, we still have to ask the question, where will the money come from?" said Liz Hirst, press secretary to Governor Bush. Meek spearheaded a petition drive that collected more than 500,000 signatures, allowing the issue to be listed — as Amendment 9 — on the 2002 ballot. He also guided the amendment through two opposition efforts in the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

as well as the public campaign to oppose the amendment. On November 5, 2002, Florida voters approved the amendment 52.4% to 47.6%.

U.S. House of Representatives

Kendrick Meek, official photo portrait, color

Committee assignments

Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

** Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support ** Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures * NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Party leadership and caucus membership

* Democratic Steering and Policy Committee *

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

*Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Meek was a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Political positions

Economic issues

Meek supports an increase in the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

.Statement of U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek Opposing H.J. Res. 88, the Federal Marriage Amendment
House of Representatives He voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Social issues

During his time in Congress, Meek consistently opposed the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding of elective abortion. He also opposes some bans on late-term abortions and notification laws for minors who seek an abortion. Meek voted against H.J. Res. 88, a proposed amendment to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

to ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, which failed to pass by a vote of 236 to 187. In a statement in the Congressional Record, Meek said:

"This proposed amendment is not directed at any real problem, other than the apparent need of the Republican leadership to gin up political support for their candidates. It is sad that the Republican leadership is not as interested as they say they are in 'protecting' the institution of marriage as they are in waging a campaign to divide and distract the American people from the real issues that need to be addressed. The nation is at war in Iraq; we face crises in Iran,
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
and
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
; the federal deficit is soaring out of control as more and more U.S. debt is controlled by countries like
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
; energy costs continue to rise and Americans wait for Congress to act to increase the minimum wage. The Republican response: wasting hours of debate on an unnecessary Constitutional amendment that had already been defeated in the Senate."

During the 2010 Senate campaign, Meek expressed support for gay adoption which had previously been banned in Florida, and referred to Governor Charlie Crist as "the

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...

of gay adoptions".

Political campaigns

Meek was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 5,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

,Representative Kendrick B. Meek (FL)
Project Vote Smart succeeding his mother, Congresswoman Carrie Meek, who retired from the seat.Political novice takes on 2-term incumbent Meek
Sun Sentinel In Meek's four elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, no Republican or third-party candidate had been listed on the general election ballot running against him. He had write-in opponents in three of the four elections and also had a Democratic primary opponent in 2006.

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

On January 13, 2009, Meek announced he would run for the seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

that would be vacated upon the retirement of Republican

Mel Martinez Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (includin ...

in 2010, saying, "I want to be a fighter for Florida with a strong voice that won't let the special interests stand in the way of what's right." On April 2, 2009, Meek announced his intention to qualify for the ballot by petition via collecting 112,476 completed petitions. On April 8, 2010, Meek made history by becoming the first statewide candidate in the history of

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 ...

to qualify for the ballot by petition. On November 2, 2010, Meek lost in a three-way-race against Governor Charlie Crist, and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, receiving only 20% of the vote.

Post-congressional career

In 2011, Meek was nominated to serve as Special Representative to the United Nations by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. In 2016, Meek joined King & Spalding LLP as a senior advisor, where he provides strategic counsel to a wide range of

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies.

Personal life

Meek is married to Arshi Siddiqui Meek, a partner at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss & Feld and former advisor to

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

. He also has two children, Lauren and Kendrick Jr.

Electoral history

{, class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%" , + : Results 2002–2008 !, Year ! !, Democrat !, Votes !, Pct ! !, Republican !, Votes !, Pct ! !, 3rd Party !, Party !, Votes !, Pct ! , - ,

, , , , align="right", 113,749 , , 100% , , , ''(no candidate)'' , align="right", , , , , * , , , , , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, , , Kendrick B. Meek , align="right", 178,690 , , 100% , , , ''(no candidate)'' , align="right", , , , , , Omari Musa , , Write-in , align="right", 734 , align="right", <1% , , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, , , Kendrick B. Meek , align="right", 90,663 , , 100% , , , ''(no candidate)'' , align="right", , , , , * , , , , , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , Kendrick B. Meek , align="right", Elected , , N/A , , , ''(no candidate)'' , align="right", , , , , ** , , , , ,

*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, Michael Italie received 73 votes. In 2006, Eric Simpson received 23 votes.
**Under Florida law, a candidate who has no opposition at all in the general election is automatically elected without his or her name being placed on the ballot. In 2008, Meek was automatically elected because he had no general election opponents on the ballot and no write-in candidates filed candidacies against him.

References

External links

Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senate
''official campaign site'' *
Profile
at SourceWatch
Advisory Council
of Haiti Innovation * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Kendrick 1966 births 21st-century American politicians African-American Christians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida American state police officers Baptists from Florida Democratic Party Florida state senators Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Politicians from Miami 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people Members of Congress who became lobbyists