‘She is Black history.’ Kendrick Meek reflects on his mother’s legacy
Former Congressman Kendrick Meek strolled out of the Range Funeral Home and threw both arms in the air like a championship boxer who had just retained his title.
Minutes before, Meek had pinned a congressional brooch on his mother, U.S. Rep. Carrie P. Meek, who laid supine inside a copper-colored casket. Now, for the first time since setting foot inside the funeral home, a smile broke across Meek’s face, his eyes turning a bright scarlet and welling up.
“I’m so happy,” Meek said, briefly pausing as the tears flowed down his face.
Looking back on that moment during a recent interview with the Miami Herald, Meek recalled being overcome with joy after finally seeing his mother at peace.
Carrie P. Meek, whose legacy loomed large in Black Miami as a champion of change, had battled illness for years. Her Nov. 28 passing at age 95 brought a finality to the family’s sorrow, and the corresponding cascade of condolences from all sides of the political and racial spectrum provided a sense of warmth.
“With what we’re facing now presently in our politics,” Meek later said, “it was refreshing for the nation and our community to see that example of how Democrats and Republicans can coexist not only as friends but also (hopefully) on issues that were facing South Florida and the nation.”
Meek’s death ends an era focused more on representative leadership than amassing political power. A granddaughter of slaves who would later walk in the halls of Congress, Meek never forgot where she came from. All the work she did in her political career — from creating more affordable housing in Florida to helping rebuild Dade County after Hurricane Andrew and standing up for Haitians — made her the personification of representative leadership.
After Carrie Meek’s services, Kendrick Meek sat down to talk about his mother’s legacy, the need for more Carrie Meeks and how her spirit will live on forever.
With Black History Month coming to a close, The Herald is now publishing excerpts of that interview. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
C. Isaiah Smalls II: Your mom’s homegoing celebration was a very special event. It seemed like all of Miami-Dade turned out. What was that like for you but also what did that say about her influence?
Kendrick Meek: My mother was surrounded around Republican members. She made sure that they were not left behind when Democrats had control of the Congress and they returned the favor when Republicans had control of the Congress so that our community did not lose to partisan politics.
If we could see more of that, it’ll benefit our community and also the nation. That spirit of working together — yes, we’ll have our differences from time to time — but that spirit of working together on behalf of the greater good is something that we as a family would love to see move forward.
CIS: That was rather refreshing. Why does it seem like bipartisanship is such a hard ask these days?
KM: I think in public service, many times we get lost in the partisan politics and forget about the human element of representing those who woke up early on a Tuesday morning for representation. They didn’t wake up for Democrats, they didn’t wake up for Republicans. They woke up for representation.
CIS: How did your mom fit into that representation equation?
KM: When I reflect on my mother’s memory her purpose was to provide the highest level of representation to those that could not afford a lobby. She was their lobbyist, she was their representative. She stood for them in the gap.
CIS: The country is seemingly a lot more divided now than when your mom served. Is it even possible for us to find common ground anymore?
KM: Regular citizens have to create the atmosphere for our elected officials to feel more comfortable in stepping out of partisanship on behalf of the greater good. In no way was Carrie Meek delusional about partisan power. She could be a hard partisan. She had to be. There’s a time and a place for that. But when our communities face issues — for example, immigration policies that favor one group over another — that’s when we have to come together on fairness.
CIS: Once regular citizens create this atmosphere, what must elected officials do?
KM: Good, grown-up elected officials need to say, “Hey, listen, I’m in charge of my politics. The governor is not in charge of my politics. The president is not in charge of my politics. I’m in charge of my politics.” Carrie Meek always was in charge of her politics. No one — no union leader, no business leader, no individual community advocate — can say, “If you don’t do this, I’ll make sure you’re not elected again.”
She was connected to the people and the fact that she had that connection and the trust, it gave her the ability to be able to do what she did. She owned her politics and that’s what we have to do.
CIS: Being that it’s Black History Month, what does Black history mean to you?
KM: Black history is American history. Everyone can wrap their arms around it because the Black community nationwide has a uniqueness in this country that no other ethnicity has. Being enslaved by this country, being asked to serve this country in spite of all of the setbacks.
CIS: Where does your mother fit in the pantheon of great Black figures?
KM: She is Black history and hopefully her spirit is a part of Black future. Take a look at her life. It wasn’t one of privilege. She climbed, step by step, up a steep mountain, personally and professionally. Being born in the segregated south, being a woman, always working two jobs, married and divorced twice — she is a perfect example of what can happen through faith, hard work and consistency. She patterned her life from the beginning to the end to serve others as an educator, as an administrator in Miami-Dade College, as a policy maker in the state Legislature, in the Congress and, afterwards, creating a foundation to continue that kind of work.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
