[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 20, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9783-S9784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN MEMORY OF ELLA LITTLE CROMWELL

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that I 
rise today in memory of Ella Little Cromwell, a truly remarkable woman 
from Hartford who passed away Sunday, September 17. Mrs. Cromwell was 
one of the most engaging and charismatic people I have ever had the 
pleasure to know. Through tireless effort, Ella Cromwell became a real 
political institution in Hartford, and was a leader in many efforts to 
promote justice and equal rights.

[[Page S9784]]

  Mrs. Cromwell believed very deeply in the value of political 
participation and believed that it was essential for Americans from all 
backgrounds to become involved in the democratic process in order to 
reach their fullest potential. Growing up in Hartford, she saw that 
there were various obstacles preventing African Americans and other 
minorities from being involved in the political process, and she 
dedicated her life to helping people overcome those obstacles.
  Through her hard work with both the Hartford Democratic Town 
Committee and the Hartford chapter of the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, of which she served as second 
vice president for many years, Mrs. Cromwell played an active role in 
helping African Americans develop a stronger voice in the city's 
politics. A master of both grassroots and retail politics, she was able 
to quickly increase her influence in Hartford politics, and helped to 
elect African-American candidates to local and State level offices. In 
many ways, her home in Hartford served as a kind of political club, 
where prospective candidates would come seeking her support and advice. 
It was well known that her support could be extremely helpful for any 
candidate.
  Also, as a member of the Connecticut Democratic State Central 
Committee for 38 years, right up until her death, she made certain the 
interests of her community were represented at the State level as well. 
Almost every democratic candidate for statewide office would have to 
pay a visit to Ella Cromwell.
  Rarely does an individual have such a meaningful and lasting effect 
on her community, but whether with the NAACP or the Democratic State 
Central Committee, Ella Cromwell never failed to touch the lives of the 
people around her. What is truly remarkable is the faith she continued 
to show in the power of the political process to effect change in her 
community, and the way in which she would continue to engage in the 
hard, sometimes thankless, work of grassroots campaigning even after 
she had achieved considerable political influence. Even at the age of 
76 she would campaign door-to-door at the same brisk pace she had 
employed years earlier as young women first getting involved. Ella 
Cromwell truly embodied the democratic sprit upon which our country was 
founded.
  With this in mind, I bid a sad farewell to Ella Little Cromwell, and 
I will keep her friends and family in my thoughts and prayers. May her 
commitment to the well-being of others continue to serve as an 
inspiration for all who knew her.

                          ____________________