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Kendrick Meek is a key member of a new generation of Florida leaders who are setting a new standard in public service and effective government.

He has shown time and time again that he has the knowledge, determination and political courage to stand up for Florida's children, seniors, workers, veterans, and the disadvantaged, not just by defending their rights, but also by going on the offense and pressing the fight to change the institutions and policies that have failed them.

An experienced legislator who served eight years in the Florida House and Senate, Meek was elected to Congress in 2002 from Florida's 17th Congressional District, which includes Northern Miami-Dade and Southern Broward counties. He serves on the powerful House Committee on Armed Services and the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. He was the first freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives selected to serve on the Homeland Security committee.

Congressman Meek has consistently received high rankings from the Miami Herald as one of the most effective legislators in South Florida. The Orlando Sentinel described him as “a workaholic with a listed home telephone number [who] sleeps less than fours a night…the most recognized African-American legislator in the state…[and] on the verge of becoming a national figure.”

In 2000, Congressman Meek and then state representative Tony Hill changed the face of Florida politics with their now-legendary sit-in to oppose the Governor’s executive order eliminating affirmative action policies. That 24-hour protest led to the historic “March on Tallahassee” in which thousands of people climbed the hills of the state capitol to demonstrate support for affirmative action policies. Following the March on Tallahassee, Congressman Meek and Senator Hill spearheaded a voter mobilization campaign responsible for record voter turnouts in the infamous 2000 election.

Congressman Meek made history again in 2002 when he carried the torch for a citizen initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida’s overcrowded public schools. As Chairman of Florida’s Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Congressman Meek spearheaded a petition drive that collected more than 500,000 signatures. He guided the amendment through two efforts by opponents to kill it in the Florida Supreme Court and a well-funded campaign of scare tactics to kill it at the ballot box. In the end, it was approved when more than 2.5 million votes Florida citizens voted for the amendment.

Before his service in elective office, Congressman Meek was a Captain in the Florida Highway Patrol and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Criminology from Florida A&M University, where he co-founded Florida A&M University’s College Young Democrats.

He has been honored and recognized by many leading organizations including the NAACP, the Florida Public Defenders ’ Association and People for the American Way.

Congressman Meek is a native of Miami, Florida. He is married to Leslie Dixon of Brooklyn, New York and they have two children: Lauren and Kendrick B. Meek Jr. Congressman Meek is the son of former Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek, his predecessor.