How The Carrie Meek Foundation fuels Miami’s growth , legacy

By Amelia Orjuela Da Silva, Miami Times Staff Writer

As the calendar turns toward 2025, The Carrie Meek Foundation is laying the groundwork for an expansive future that honors the legacy of Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek while addressing the evolving needs of Miami-Dade County’s communities. From workforce development in aviation to community-based safety initiatives, the foundation is focused on building sustainable, impactful solutions for the region’s Black and brown neighborhoods.

A legacy continued

Meek was a pioneering force in American politics. As the first Black Floridian elected to Congress since Reconstruction, she broke barriers when she won the 1992 Democratic primary at the age of 66. Over the next decade, Meek shaped health, education, housing, and economic development policies to benefit her constituents. Even after retiring in 2002, she continued her advocacy through the Carrie P. Meek Foundation, which she established to expand upon her work in Miami.

Lucia Davis-Raiford, the current president and CEO of the Foundation and Meek’s daughter,acknowledges the weight of building upon her mother’s mission.

“Our tagline is ‘Legacy and Action,’ and our mission is to operationalize programming in the areas she supported,” Davis-Raiford said.

She explained that the foundation’s work centers on four pillars: health, education, housing, and economic development.

“We’re not legislators,” Davis-Raiford added. “Her job was to craft laws that bettered the lives of her people. Our job now is to work in those same areas.”

The Future of Aviation

One of the Foundation’s most ambitious projects is the Carrie Meek Aviation Workforce Innovation Center, which Congresswoman Frederica Wilson arranged funding for earlier this year with an $850,000 grant. The center at Opa-Locka Airport will provide underserved communities with training and job opportunities in aviation and avionics.

“Miami is a major transportation hub with high-paying jobs,” said Wilson. “Too many workers don’t know how to get into the aviation workforce or lack the skills. That’s why I’m proud to support this innovative job center, which will empower workers with the skills and resources to land high-paying jobs in the aviation industry.”

Davis-Raiford emphasized that the focus would not just be on aviation, but on avionics, the technical side of aviation.

“When we talk about aviation, everybody thinks about pilots, and the fact of the matter is, if there are no planes, pilots can’t fly,” she said.

This initiative targets communities like Opa-Locka, Liberty City, Miami Gardens and Hialeah, areas traditionally lacking career pathways in high-demand fields. The program will expose young people, beginning at middle school students, to various aviation careers, from turbine engine repair to avionics.

Hope for Communities

“We want to  create an environment where that middle school kid can get the exposure so that he can make early decisions about what he wants to do or she wants to do,” Davis-Raiford said. “Not everybody’s going to college, but everybody needs to be able to make a living, and there are very healthy incomes to be made in this industry.”

The Foundation has partnered with Captain Barrington Irving’s Experience Aviation, which has developed a “flying classroom” to teach young people about aviation. Irving’s school will help shape the curriculum and provide hands-on training.

Though the center is still in the early planning stages, Davis-Raiford explained that they are working on the infrastructure budget and looking for collaborations to sustain the project. The facility will include labs for 3D printing, advanced manufacturing, electrical systems, green technologies, and other technical skills.

Tackling Gun Violence Supporting Safer Communities Grant

While the aviation initiative represents a new frontier, the foundation’s commitment to addressing gun violence and public safety remains a priority. Through the Supporting Safer Communities Grant Program, funded by a $7.2 million grant from Miami-Dade County’s Community Violence Intervention Initiative (CVI) in 2022, the foundation has awarded 82 grants to local organizations addressing violence, particularly in high-crime neighborhoods.

“We’re creating a very robust network across the county of community-based organizations that can be mobilized for the kinds of things and positive change that we want to see in our community,” Davis-Raiford explained.

That network includes organizations overseeing shelters around Miami-Dade County, while others provide pet therapy to children and families impacted by gun violence, helping to heal trauma and foster community connections. Other supported programs include the Healing and Justice Center, which offers mental health services to marginalized individuals, and organizations working with youth, formerly incarcerated individuals, and people impacted by trauma.

“It’s just across the board,” Davis-Raiford said. “They look at it as a community-wide issue, not an isolated transactional kind of event.”

The Meek Mobilize Grants Program further underscores the foundation’s dedication to empowering local organizations. By offering $100,000 grants, the program supports initiatives that engage residents in Opa-Locka, Florida City and Liberty City, rallying them around key issues that improve quality of life and address the unique challenges facing Miami-Dade’s Black and brown communities.

This initiative has funded various innovative community projects, from maternal health programs to educational initiatives for at-risk youth. One standout project is the Metro Mommy Agency, which provides doula services to reduce infant mortality in underserved communities. The organizations have gained recognition and additional support, further expanding their impact.

“These organizations are now receiving the support and capacity-building they need to thrive,” Davis-Raiford said. “It also gives us more flexibility to address issues that Carrie Meek would have to respond to.”

Looking ahead, the Carrie Meek Foundation has ambitious plans for 2025 and beyond.

“You will see more than I can articulate right now,” Davis-Raiford said.

The foundation will continue to develop its four core pillars — health, education, housing, and economic development. One major initiative involves a comprehensive program addressing health, safety and education, with a special focus on engaging men and boys in the fight against violence. Thanks to a $35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the foundation will spearhead this project aimed at addressing domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

Raiford explained, “Our work is going to be very public, very loud, and very intense on engaging the community of right-thinking, well-meaning men in the elimination of violence against women and girls.”

The Foundation will also focus on expanding housing initiatives to address the barriers to healthy, safe housing in Black and brown communities. They are also developing a public charity, Meek Mobilize Miami, to serve the community as a direct service provider.

For Davis-Raiford, it’s about continuing her mother’s legacy.

“She loved her community, and they loved her back,” she said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure that this community knows that we take this responsibility seriously, and as long as we have breath, we’ll be doing the work in the community that it takes to push us all forward together.”