Alcee Hastings: Florida Congressman and First Black Federal Judge in the

Alcee Hastings was an American judge, civil rights lawyer and politician who represented Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 until his death. Born Alcee Lamar Hastings on September 5, 1936, in Altamonte Springs, Florida, he was jailed several times as a young man for his civil rights activism.

In 1979 Hastings became the first Black federal judge in Florida's history when he was commissioned to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The House impeached him for bribery and perjury in 1988, and the Senate removed him from the bench in 1989 but did not bar him from future office. He won a House seat in 1992 and served until 2021, and in 2004 he was elected president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Hastings was married three times, had three children and a stepchild, and married Patricia Williams in 2019. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2019 and kept serving in Congress during his illness. He died on April 6, 2021, at age 84. Remembered as a tenacious voice for South Florida, he had a long and complicated career in public life.

Achievements: First Black federal judge in Florida (1979), impeached and removed from the bench (1988-1989), served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1993-2021), president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (2004).

Birth: September 5, 1936 - Altamonte Springs, Florida.

Profession: Judge, lawyer and politician.

Interesting Facts: He was jailed six times during civil rights demonstrations. The Senate's decision not to bar him from future office let him win a House seat in 1992.