Vice President Kamala Harris, congressional leaders pay tribute to Alcee Hastings at US Capitol ceremony

With laughter and tears, dozens of the late Congressman Alcee Hastings’ colleagues celebrated his life at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, remembering an outspoken and passionate advocate and lawmaker.

“All of our colleagues appreciated and loved Alcee Hastings — loved and admired him,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “He never gave up or backed down because he believed that America must live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all.”

The South Florida Democrat died April 6 at age 84, about two-and-a-half years after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. First elected in 1992, Hastings was the longest-serving representative from Florida at the time of his death, making him dean of the state’s congressional delegation.

Vice President Kamala Harris was in the front row at the memorial service in Statuary Hall, the chamber that was used as the meeting place for the House of Representatives in the early 1800s. The congressional Democratic leadership, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and two of his closest colleagues from the Florida delegation paid tribute to Hastings.

“Alcee was a gifted legislator, a talented jurist, and an unwavering champion of the people of Florida. Even those who did not share his political views respected his passion and his candor. You never had to guess what Alcee was thinking. He made it clear,” said U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents an adjacent district, fought tears as she remembered Hastings.

“Alcee loved the 20th District — from Belle Glade to Broward, and the Sawgrass to Sistrunk — he was Florida through and through. He valued every part of the cultural and ethnic mosaic that enriches our great state,” she said. “We’ve lost a brilliant, fearless, giant-hearted advocate for the place he so dearly loved. And here in Congress, one less wise, patient and compassionate statesman walks our halls.”

Because of COVID-19, Wasserman Schultz cast Hastings’ proxy vote during his final 10 months in office and swore him in to his 15th term in South Florida because he was unable to travel to Washington, D.C.

“I spoke to him almost every day,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Good days or bad, he made sure that he personally told me his vote preferences. Some days he might say, in his Alcee way, ‘Why the hell are we voting on this?’ I cherished catching up with him. Other days, he’d just share his vote and the call would end too soon.” No matter how he felt, she said, Hastings was “always gracious. Always grateful.”

“Alcee never let the chatter or the noise get in his way. He never let the detractors or the haters stop his purpose. He was going to fight for the poor, the voiceless, Black or brown people no matter what. And if you didn’t like it, he didn’t care,” said former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, now a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.

Hastings, whose parents were domestic workers, moved to Fort Lauderdale in the early 1960s, where he worked as an attorney who crusaded against racial injustice. He later became a federal judge who was impeached and removed from office. U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 member of the House, referred to that part of Hastings’ life — without mentioning the judgeship or impeachment — explaining that “what happened to him” did not defeat Hastings or make him feel sorry for himself. “His greatness is that he did not let a defeat, defeat him.”

He was elected to Congress in 1992, when Florida sent three Black representatives to Washington for the first time since 1877, when the post-Civil War era of Reconstruction ended.

In Congress, he represented most of the African American and Caribbean American communities in Broward and Palm Beach counties, though the borders of his district changed somewhat over the years.

“Alcee’s life was the story of America,” Pelosi said.

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat in the House and former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, described Hastings as “the friend when needed, the foe when appropriate, the congressperson’s congressperson.”

Hastings’ colleagues described the kind of representative whose approach was more common in his generation than in many of today’s political leaders. He argued passionately for his beliefs — but did so without making enemies out of his opponents.

“Against a backdrop of rising partisanship in Congress, working with Alcee was the exact opposite,” said U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Gulf Coast Republican who co-chaired the Florida congressional delegation with Hastings. “Alcee was one of the most dedicated public servants I’ve had the privilege of working with. … He had many friends from my side of the aisle, because Alcee could disagree without being disagreeable.”

Others remembered being recipients of Hastings’ advice. U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said it could sometimes be delivered with “some sharp words, not to be shared under the Capitol dome.”

Outspokenness was a Hastings hallmark. “You never had to guess what Alcee thought or believed. He made it clear, whether you liked it or not. He did it by telling the nation how he felt — even how he felt about the state of Texas,” Beatty said. He was referring to the time that Hastings, during a committee hearing, famously described Texas as “a crazy state” and refused to back down. “You will wait until hell freezes over for me to say anything in an apology.”

Several colleagues remembered Hastings for his bright ties and color-coordinated bright socks, and for his fierce devotion to, and 65-year-membership in, the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, one of the Divine Nine historically black fraternities and sororities.

The late congressman didn’t want a funeral, a decision his family honored. His wife, Patricia Williams, and his children and grandchildren were present in Statuary Hall.

Harris didn’t speak at the event. On the day Hastings died, the vice president said he “welcomed me to the Congressional Black Caucus when I was still new to the Senate. He exuded the kind of warmth and good humor that not only put me at ease, but encouraged me to speak my mind.” (In 2019, he became the first elected official in Florida to endorse Harris for president. After Biden secured the presidential nomination, Hastings urged him to select her as his running mate.)

Because of social distancing rules necessitated by COVID-19, the gathering was kept relatively small, with several dozen people attending. Pelosi said many more members of Congress wanted to be at the memorial, which was streamed on Facebook and on the public affairs channel C-SPAN.

Throughout the 50-minute celebration, a theme was that Hastings did things “his way.” And Pelosi said the music in the middle of the ceremony was Hastings’ choice: Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” sung a capella by an Air Force soloist.