Black PR Wire Power Profiler on Congressman Kendrick Meek

When it comes to public service, proven leadership and political courage, Kendrick Meek is setting a new standard in Florida. He stands up for Florida's children, seniors and the disadvantaged, not just by defending their rights, but by going on offense and taking the fight to systems that have failed them. He wears more hats than anyone else in Florida politics and when he makes a commitment he follows through every time.

In 1986, Kendrick Meek co-founded Florida A&M's College Young Democrats. He earned his B.S. in 1989 and went on to serve with the Florida Highway Patrol, rising to the rank of Captain. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1994. He was elected to the state Senate in 1998. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2002.

Congressman Meek and Senator Tony Hill's sit-in and ensuing protest of the "One Florida" initiative in 1999 changed the face of Florida politics forever. Following the March on Tallahassee, Congressman Meek and Senator Hill spearheaded the "Arrive with 5" voter mobilization campaign responsible for record voter turnouts in the now infamous 2000 election.

Meek made history again in 2002 when he carried the torch for a citizen initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida's critically overcrowded public schools. Despite finding nothing but closed doors in the state legislature, he refused to resign another generation to overcrowded classes. As Chairman of the newly formed Florida Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Congressman Meek started a petition drive to amend the state constitution. The amendment requiring the state to provide funding for class size reduction was approved for the ballot on August 1, 2002, with 488,722 signatures and by Election Day the amendment had survived two trips to the Florida Supreme Court, and a well-funded campaign of scare tactics. In the end, the citizens of Florida declared victory with more than 2.5 million votes for Amendment 9.

Today, Kendrick Meek is the Congressman for Congressional District 17. Congressman Meek serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Homeland Security. As a former law enforcement officer, Congressman Meek has a great knowledge of port and aviation security, immigration and emergency and preparedness and response issues.

Congressman Meek has consistently received high rankings from the Miami Herald as one of the most effective legislators in South Florida. He served one term as the Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation and served on the state's public security committee.
During his tenure in the Legislature, he worked hard to create jobs and boost consumer confidence; provide patients and their doctors more authority over critical medical decisions; protect people from predatory lenders; and require law enforcement agencies to adopt comprehensive racial profiling policies.

Recently, the Miami Herald and others also recognized him for his unrelenting efforts to ensure equal and fair treatment for Haitian detainees in Miami. The Orlando Sentinel described Kendrick Meek as "a workaholic with a listed home telephone number, [who] sleeps less than four hours a night...the most recognized African-American legislator in the state... [and] on the verge of becoming a national figure."

Congressman Meek is also a member of the Metropolitan Dade County Urban Revitalization Task Force and a Flemming Fellow for the Center for Policy Alternatives.

Kendrick Meek was born September 6, 1966, in Miami, Florida. He is married to Leslie Dixon of Brooklyn, New York. They have two children: Lauren and Kendrick B. Jr. Even in a suit and tie, Congressman Meek has been known to pull the tackle box out of the back of his GMC Suburban and cast a line in the canals near his Miami home.