Three generations of service: How the Meek legacy shaped a new congressional candidate

Standing inside the Gladeview home where his grandmother, the late Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek, launched her first political campaign nearly five decades ago, Kendrick Meek Jr. is trying to extend one of South Florida’s most recognizable political legacies into a third generation.

The 29-year-old attorney is seeking the Democratic nomination in Florida’s 24th Congressional District, the same seat once represented by his grandmother and later by his father, former U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek. He says his campaign is about applying their lessons while building his own identity.

“My grandmother had an incredible legacy. My father had an incredible legacy,” Meek Jr. told The Miami Times. “I think it means being accessible to the folks of this district and actually solving the issues that we all face.”

The younger Meek is running in a crowded primary to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Frederica S. Wilson. Facing opponents with years of experience in county and state government, he is campaigning as a first-time candidate whose federal background he says makes him uniquely prepared to serve.

“I’m the only candidate in this race that actually has federal experience,” Meek Jr. said. “That’s what separates me from the rest of the pack.”

A legacy built at home

Born and raised in Biscayne Gardens, Meek Jr. earned a political science degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from the University of Miami.

He has worked for the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Office of Management and Budget during the Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. He has practiced law for about three years, specializing in land use, zoning and real estate development.

“I have a unique understanding of how our political and legal system works and how it doesn’t work for average people,” he said.

Public service has always been central to his life, he says.

“I always knew that I wanted to follow my dad’s footsteps and my grandmother’s footsteps,” Meek Jr. said, noting his family never pressured him to run. “It was always a passion of mine since I was a little boy. I just wanted to be just like my dad, like any kid would.”

Carrie Meek launched her first campaign from the Gladeview home in 1979 after the death of state Rep. Gwen Cherry, defeating 12 candidates to earn the House seat and later becoming the first Black woman elected to the Florida Senate.

In 1992, at age 66, she was elected to serve in Congress, where she secured Hurricane Andrew recovery funding and championed affordable housing, as well as support for Haitian immigrants. When Carrie retired in 2002, her son succeeded her, becoming the first Black member of Congress to directly succeed his mother.

“Back in the ’80s and early ’90s, me witnessing that leadership that my mother provided, it was easy for me to pick up the mantle and to do some of the same work as a member of Congress,” Meek Sr. said.

After serving in the Florida House and Senate, Meek Sr. spent four terms in Congress, where he championed Haitian trade and immigration protections, including TPS after the 2010 earthquake.

He said his mother never encouraged him to run for office.

“When I shared with her that I would like to run actually in this room, she said, ‘If you're going to run, you're going to have to knock on doors. You're going to have to be committed as a campaigner because you will learn what you need to know to represent the people,’” Meek Sr. said.

Now he sees his son following that path.

“He has, from birth, been around leadership and public service,” Meek Sr. said. “He's watched his grandmother work. He had an opportunity to witness my work firsthand.”

Campaigning and lessons

The family agrees campaigning has changed dramatically, but the fundamentals remain the same.

“Back in the day, you didn't have the kind of data that we have now. We didn't have social media,” Meek Jr. said, describing a campaign built around voter data, digital advertising and online outreach.

His father views social media as both an advantage and a challenge.

“It's almost like an equalization tool, because those campaigns that are well-funded and those that are not so well-funded are able to utilize social media,” Meek Sr. said. “Fact-check and do your due diligence, because they can put anything up and it doesn't mean it's true.”

With the race starting only after Wilson announced her retirement in late May, Meek Sr. praised his son's ability to quickly build a campaign and raise nearly $500,000.

“I had more time to do it because every race I ran in, I was out there like 15 months — 24 months in advance. He did not have that opportunity,” he said.

One tradition, however, has remained. RV campaigning has become a Meek family trademark. Carrie Meek's first campaign operated from a camper parked outside her Gladeview home, and Meek Sr. recalled creating campaign materials on a tight budget, with Miami Dade College students writing “Carrie Meek” on signs illustrated with waterproof markers before running paper copies.

“We couldn’t afford two-color signs to have her picture printed on there,” Meek Sr. recalled, looking at an old campaign photograph. “We took a black-and-white picture, put tape on it and put her picture on it, and that was the sign.”

A public address system sat atop the camper as the family drove through neighborhoods, urging residents to “vote for Carrie Meek for state representative.”

Meek Sr. later used an RV during his 2010 U.S. Senate campaign to travel the state gathering signatures instead of paying the qualifying fee. Today, Meek Jr. continues that tradition with his “Pound the Pavement Tour.”

“We're literally going to every corner of the district to meet voters where they are, as opposed to saying, ‘Hey, come to these events,’” Meek Jr. said. “We're knocking on doors. We're going to churches, synagogues and mosques to talk to voters, and that's exactly what I expect to do when I'm a member of Congress.”

For Meek Jr., the most enduring lesson from his grandmother has little to do with politics.

“Carrie Meek always said, to be a great public servant, you have to love people,” he said.

He remembers accompanying his grandmother to grocery stores as a child. He said residents would stop her, and she would write down what they told her about their housing or service issues in a notebook. When she returned home, she would contact local officials to help.

Meek Jr. said Carrie continued assisting people long after leaving office.

His father recalled another lesson that has guided both generations.

“My mother used to say always that leadership is about vision, and if you're not misunderstood from time to time, you're not leading,” Meek Sr. said. “You can never go wrong as long as you're on the side of the people that you represent.”

Building his own record

Meek Jr.'s platform centers on affordability, housing, healthcare, immigration and voting rights. His proposals include down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, federal aid for seniors repairing homes, a restoration of Voting Rights Act protections and a pathway to citizenship for long-term TPS holders.

“We are seeing the most aggressive attack on Black political power since Jim Crow,” he said. “We need someone who's going to fight back.”

To distinguish himself in the crowded primary, where recent polls have placed him third, Meek Jr. points to the relationships he has in Washington. He has secured endorsements from over 25 members of Congress, labor organizations and prominent South Florida leaders including civil rights icon Dr. Adora Obi Nweze and former Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning.

“I have relationships in Washington, on Capitol Hill,” Meek Jr. said. “Those are relationships I can call on as soon as I get to Washington. I’m really the only candidate that's going to be ready on day one to serve this community.”

While mindful of his family's legacy, Meek Jr. knows voters expect him to earn support on his own merits.

“My grandmother is a perfect example of a great representative,” he said. “I don't think anyone, including me, can really outdo her. I can aspire to it, but I don't think anyone can.”

Meek Sr. hopes the family’s legacy will be defined less by the offices held than by the residents served.

“We were members of the community that offered ourselves. The congresswoman was a professional elected official. I consider myself a professional elected official, and Kendrick will carry on that legacy of standing up on behalf of Ms. Rodriguez, Mr. Philomine and Mr. Johnson.”

As the race concludes, Meek Jr. stresses that the stakes extend well beyond his campaign.

“We're at a crossroads. South Florida is changing quickly,” he said. “We need someone who's going to fight on our behalf — to protect our seniors, provide an affordable future for our young people and protect working-class people. It really starts with this election.”