By Arise Rejoice News Service
The nation lost one of its leading legislative minds and a formidable public servant with the passing of former Congresswoman Carrie P. Meeks who died recently in Miami, Florida.
A former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, she served the people of South Florida, including the area known as Liberty City, from 1992 until her retirement in 2002.The Congressional District that Representative Meeks served was often described as a racial melting pot, including A rainbow of people.
In an highly unprecedented achievement for a first term member, Representative Meeks, who received her undergraduate degree in biology from Florida A & M University, was appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
She was defined by her “high intellect and her moral character,” said Broward County Judge Michael A. Robinson who knew Representative Meeks for more than three decades.
“Representative Meeks spoke truth to power,” he said. “ She was concerned about the poor and the downtrodden”
While a member of the Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Meeks delivered greatly needed financing for South Florida which had been devastated by a recent hurricane.
She also targeted significant amounts of funding to small and minority business owners in Florida and throughout the United Stares.
Born in Tallahassee, Florida Representative Meeks was the last of twelve children. Her parents were once sharecroppers, and one of her grandparents, known as “Ms. Mandy,” was born during slavery.
When she went to Washington to take her congressional seat, Representative Meeks became the first African Amercand from Florida to serve in the Congress since Reconstruction.
“The life of Representative Carrie Meeks was laced with love,” said retired Judge Mary Rudd Robinson, who sat on the bench in Broward County Florida.
“She was an inspiration to me and to multitudes of people. She loved her constituents , her state and her nation. There will never be another like her,” Judge Robinson said.
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