Florida Senate - 2022                            (NP)    SR 1992
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       39-03477-22                                           20221992__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution remembering former United States
    3         Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek and honoring her legacy
    4         of leadership, advocacy, and public service and her
    5         countless contributions to this state.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, Carrie P. Meek was born in Tallahassee on April
    8  29, 1926, to Willie and Carrie Pittman, who began their lives
    9  together as sharecroppers, and
   10         WHEREAS, as the granddaughter of “Miss Mandy,” a slave born
   11  and raised in Lilly, Georgia, Carrie P. Meek grew up during the
   12  turbulent Jim Crow era but would overcome many racial, gender,
   13  and educational barriers during her lifetime, and
   14         WHEREAS, in 1946, Carrie P. Meek earned a Bachelor of
   15  Science in Biology and Physical Education from Florida
   16  Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), where she was a
   17  member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and
   18         WHEREAS, in the 1940s, a state law prohibited Black
   19  students from attending public graduate schools, which forced
   20  Carrie P. Meek to enroll out of state at the University of
   21  Michigan, where she earned a Master of Science in Public Health
   22  and Physical Education, and
   23         WHEREAS, upon graduating from the University of Michigan,
   24  Carrie P. Meek accepted a position at Bethune-Cookman College as
   25  an instructor and became the institution’s first female
   26  basketball coach, and
   27         WHEREAS, Carrie P. Meek later returned to FAMU as a health
   28  and physical education instructor, a position she would hold
   29  until 1961, and
   30         WHEREAS, after leaving FAMU, Carrie P. Meek continued her
   31  career in higher education at Miami Dade Community College,
   32  where she became the first Black professor, associate dean, and
   33  assistant to the vice president of the college, and
   34         WHEREAS, in 1978, Carrie P. Meek ran for the Florida House
   35  of Representatives and defeated 12 other candidates to win her
   36  place in the Florida Legislature, serving from 1979 to 1983 and
   37  chairing the Education Appropriations Subcommittee, and
   38         WHEREAS, beginning in 1983, Carrie P. Meek served as the
   39  first Black woman elected to the Florida Senate and the first
   40  Black legislator to serve in that legislative body in more than
   41  a century, and
   42         WHEREAS, as a skilled lawmaker who was once called “the
   43  conscience of the Florida Senate,” Carrie P. Meek passed
   44  significant legislation to promote literacy and encourage
   45  students to stay in school and was a long-time champion of
   46  housing rights, and
   47         WHEREAS, in 1992, Carrie P. Meek continued her trailblazing
   48  political career, representing Florida’s 17th Congressional
   49  District as a member of the United States House of
   50  Representatives and becoming one of the first Black members from
   51  this state elected to the United States Congress since the
   52  Reconstruction era, and
   53         WHEREAS, while serving in the United States Congress,
   54  Carrie P. Meek was a member of the powerful House Committee on
   55  Appropriations and worked to secure $100 million in aid to
   56  rebuild Dade County as the area recovered from Hurricane Andrew,
   57  and
   58         WHEREAS, Carrie P. Meek built her legacy on advocating for
   59  equal and fair treatment for all individuals, regardless of the
   60  color of their skin, stating, “I didn’t go into politics with a
   61  chip on my shoulder, but I let people up there know I expected
   62  to get the same results as anybody else,” and
   63         WHEREAS, after leaving the United States Congress, Carrie
   64  P. Meek returned to her community to fully dedicate herself to
   65  charitable activities through the Carrie Meek Foundation, which
   66  serves as an extension of the public service to which she was
   67  committed throughout her lifetime, and
   68         WHEREAS, on November 28, 2021, Carrie P. Meek passed away,
   69  leaving behind a legacy that will significantly enrich future
   70  generations of Florida residents, NOW, THEREFORE,
   71  
   72  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   73  
   74         That former United States Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek is
   75  remembered and her legacy of leadership, advocacy, and public
   76  service and her countless contributions to this state are
   77  honored.
   78         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   79  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the family of
   80  former United States Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek as a tangible
   81  token of the sentiments expressed herein.