NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Former U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek opened up about the lasting legacy of his mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, days after her passing.
The congressman spoke on Thursday with 7News from the North Liberty City home where his mother raised a family and made so many trailblazing moves.
“She wanted to be right here. She went on to a greater place here at this address,” he said.
Kendrick Meek looked back on the life of a woman they all called “Congresswoman.”
“She didn’t stop us from calling her ‘Congresswoman,’ either,” he said.
Meek said his mother lived a long and productive life during her 95 years. She first entered politics in 1979 in Florida’s State House before she moved to the State Senate as one of the first African Americans in that body.
Years later, she ran for and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“She went to Congress when she was 66 years old. Who does that? Carrie Meek does,” said her son, “and it was the first time that there was an African American-accessible seat to allow her to serve since Reconstruction.”
Kendrick Meek and his two sisters would give back to their communities. Only one would also leave the Liberty City home for Capitol Hill.
But before he made that leap, his mother gave him some surprising advice.
“I was a state senator, and she was in Congress, and I was telling her about what I was doing on the other end, and she said, ‘You don’t have to prove yourself anymore,'” he said.
Carrie Meek grew up in a segregated South, in Tallahassee. She earned her undergraduate degree at what was then Florida A&M College.
“The State of Florida paid for her to go to the University of Michigan because of racism,” said her son.
Married and divorced twice, the former educator and administrator raised three children as a single mother before she made a name as a staunch and vocal Democrat.
“The last Republican that did something for me was Abraham Lincoln,” she said during a speech.
Meek met legendary activists-turned-politicians who passed before her, like South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and U.S. Rep. John Lewis.
She declined to seek a sixth term in Congress in 2002.
“She believed in the work, she believed in community, she believed, if you have the opportunity to serve, and the people woke up at 7 in the morning to vote for representation, they’re gonna get it,” said Kendrick.
Kendrick Meek called his mother his “‘shero’ and a true leader,” and he invited her beloved community to celebrate her life.
“When she passed, I just couldn’t think but have nothing in my heart but joy,” he said. “I told my friend who called me the other day, I said, ‘She’s home now, and we’re going to celebrate it, and that’s what we’re going to do.'”
Kendrick Meek said his mother had a love of country that was unmatched, and she draped herself in the U.S. flag. She had a collection of lapel pins of the flag in her wardrobe.
At least 30 members of Congress are expected to attend homegoing services for the former congresswoman this weekend At least one of them will be held at Miami Dade College North Campus, where a nearby street is named in her honor.
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