NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Politicians from both sides of the aisle joined a grateful South Florida community in Northwest Miami-Dade to pay tribute to former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, highlighting the pioneering lawmaker’s achievements and all the doors that she helped open.
Several generations of lawmakers, from those who entered the U.S. Congress to those who followed, came together at Miami Dade College’s North Campus, Monday night.
“You give me one minute tonight, I’m going to take it, because I’m going to take much more than one minute tomorrow,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.
“Since we’re talking about Carrie Meek’s precedent, she was the last person to join the Appropriations Committee as a freshman member of Congress,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The wake for the late congresswoman, who passed away Nov. 28 at age 95, was filled with reflections on her legacy in state and federal politics, all beneath a massive U.S. flag.
Clyburn shared how the fellow Democrat managed to get him elected as co-president of their freshman class in 1992, the “Year of the Woman.”
“Eva Clayton would be president for the first session. Jim Clyburn would be president for the second session, and I was so relieved,” he said to applause from the audience.
But it’s the work Meek did for her constituents during her decades of public service that brought so many to MDC North to pay their respects.
Gracia Louis treasures the letter Meek sent as she worked to bring his mother to the U.S. from Haiti.
“My mother thought she was gonna die without seeing me after 10 years in the United States, so because of that, I want to pay my respects,” he said.
Dianah Hill is a member of Meek’s sorority, but back in 1997, she didn’t know the congresswoman.
Meek learned of Hill’s lupus organization and extended an invitation to D.C.
“Even though I have a handicap, I found that I had to be here, because I thought about how she cared so much about people and how did she learn about me,” said Hill. “I said, ‘Who, me? Who am I?’ But she was in Washington, and she called for me to come to Washington.”
Edwin Frazier brought his daughter and 7-year-old grandson to teach them about the legendary legislator. As he approached the late congresswoman’s loved ones, he said, “My condolences to the family.”
Meek’s family will be involved in a funeral procession that is going to pass by several landmarks that were important to her, including at a school named for her at MDC North.
Her funeral is set for Tuesday at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens, beginning at 11 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
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