MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - Mourners in Miami Gardens bid a final farewell to former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek.
The congresswoman, who passed away on Nov. 28 at age 95, was laid to rest on Tuesday.
The trailblazer was remembered and honored at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens.
Members of Congress also flew into town to attend the service, which started at around 11 a.m.
Her family was involved in a funeral procession prior to the service that passed by several landmarks that were important to Meek, including a school named for her, the Carrie P. Meek/Westview K-8 Center.
Students and teachers could be seen cheering and waving flags to the procession as it passed by the school’s campus.
Meek leaves behind two daughters, Sheila Davis and Lucia Davis-Raiford, and a son, Kendrick Meek.
Her son Kendrick, who also served in Congress, at one point stopped the procession outside the school to personally greet the students.
He said the past three days have really been a celebration of his mother’s life.
“The fact that she was a part of all of our lives is a blessing in itself and an education at the same time,” he said.
Meek was the first Black professor at Miami Dade College, the first Black woman elected to the State Senate and the first Black Floridian elected to Congress before the Civil War.
One of Meek’s former students at Florida A&M University, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, would end up representing her district.
“This was personal for me. When I was a freshman at [Florida A&M University], Carrie was my [physical education] teacher, and she was a rock star,” she said. “She loved us, we loved her, and we wanted to be just like her. What a role model.”
Praise for the Democrat’s work and devotion to South Florida came from the other side of the political aisle as well.
“I thank God for giving me the opportunity to meet and to work with and to love and to learn from Carrie Meek,” said former U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.
Friends, family members and former students of the late congresswoman had nothing but good things to say about Meek. They described her as bright, hardworking, dedicated and charming, and they highlighted her immense love for the community and the country.
Even former President Bill Clinton chimed in to praise the local leader.
“She was an outstanding representative for South Florida,” he said, “from securing disaster relief from Hurricane Andrew, to getting investments necessary to create jobs in the districts, to fighting for refugees and immigrants, and opening new educational opportunities.”
Monday night, several generations of lawmakers and a grateful South Florida community came together to pay tribute to Meek.
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