[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H5338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING THE HONORABLE ELLA SCARBOROUGH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Adams) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember my friend who was 
a champion for the people of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and North 
Carolina; a trailblazer for Black women, especially those in public 
service; and a sincere, authentic, and humble servant of God who always 
looked out for ``the least of these'': the Honorable Ella Butler 
Scarborough.
  I include in the Record, Madam Speaker, a remembrance from her 
colleagues on the Mecklenburg County Commission that reads in part: 
``Commissioner Scarborough's passion was limitless, and her loss is 
immeasurable.''

                     Board of County Commissioners


  Statement from the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners--Ella 
                   Scarborough, Congressional Record

       The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners was saddened 
     to learn of the passing of Commissioner Ella Butler 
     Scarborough.
       Commissioner Scarborough was more than a colleague or 
     public figure. Throughout her life, Commissioner Scarborough 
     was a pillar in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community who made 
     an immense impact, especially on the lives of our most 
     vulnerable and marginalized citizens.
       Commissioner Scarborough was elected to the Mecklenburg 
     Board of County Commissioners in 2014, and went on to serve 
     as Chair from 2016 to 2018, making her the first African 
     American woman to be elected to that position.
       Prior to serving on the Board of County Commissioners, 
     Commissioner Scarborough made history as the first African 
     American woman to be elected to the Charlotte City Council, 
     serving from 1987 to 1997 (district and at-large). She was 
     also a statewide candidate for U.S. Senate in 1998 and ran 
     for Charlotte mayor in 1999 and 2001. In 2008, Commissioner 
     Scarborough served as a North Carolina delegate at the 
     Democratic National Convention. In the 1960s, during her 
     youth in South Carolina, she became known for her activity in 
     the civil rights movement.
       A fierce advocate for youth literacy, solutions to 
     homelessness and equality, Commissioner Scarborough's 
     tireless efforts and dedication to the community at-large was 
     exemplary and instrumental in eliminating inequities that 
     created challenges for many in our community.
       Commissioner Scarborough was a member of Friendship 
     Missionary Baptist Church. She was the devoted mother to two 
     children and widow of Levern ``Pete'' Scarborough. She 
     graduated from South Carolina State University with a degree 
     in library science education and earned a master's degree 
     from the University of Charleston in West Virginia in 
     organizational leadership.
       Commissioner Scarborough's passion was limitless. and her 
     loss is immeasurable. Our prayers go out to her family, 
     friends and the entire Mecklenburg County community that is a 
     better place today due to her dedication.
       Signed--The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners:
       Chairman--George Dunlap, District 3.
       Vice Chair--Elaine Powell, District 1.
       Pat Cotham, At-Large.
       Leigh Altman, At-large.
       Wilhelmenia I. Rembert, Temporary At-Large.
       Vilma D. Leake, District 2.
       Mark Jerrell, District 4.
       Laura Meier, District 5.
       Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, District 6.

  Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, Ella's loss is immeasurable in part because 
she was a veteran of the civil rights movement going all the way back 
to her youth in South Carolina. The consciousness and her conscience of 
that movement was seen in her work as a pillar of our community who 
fought for our vulnerable and marginalized.
  She worked for equality and equity not only for Black Americans but 
for every community. She worked for the homeless and unhoused; she 
worked for youth literacy and public education.
  Even as her health failed, she never stopped fighting.
  Like many HBCU graduates from her generation, she made history. She 
was the first African-American woman elected to the Charlotte City 
Council and the first to serve as the chair of the Mecklenburg County 
Commission. Her leadership opened doors and inspired others. She 
encouraged other Black women to run and serve.
  But Ella was the kind of person who was more concerned about the work 
she did than the history she made. She was a true child of the civil 
rights generation. She was the great-grandniece of the legendary Mary 
McLeod Bethune. Her entire family was involved in the movement.
  When she was 17, she put her body and her life on the line to 
integrate a segregated movie theater in her community. Five years 
later, as a student at South Carolina State, she did the same at a 
bowling alley in Orangeburg. This time the activists were not so lucky. 
South Carolina Highway Patrol officers fired into the crowd of 
students--Ella's friends--killing 3 and injuring 10 times as many. Ella 
was spirited away out of danger by a member of the football team.
  It is a blessing that Ella was spared that day to continue her fight. 
Even when she was jailed in the fight to end Jim Crow, she never 
stopped fighting, and she never forgot her blessings.
  However, overcoming adversity and integrating segregated spaces was 
something she had done since the day she was born.
  As Charlotte's Hannah Hasan wrote:

       She has been fighting since birth. She was born premature; 
     3 pounds. At that time Black babies weren't guaranteed an 
     incubator, so her little body had to fight just to exist.

  Indeed, when her father convinced the hospital to admit baby Ella to 
the ICU in Sumter, she became the first Black baby in that space. 
Perhaps that miracle was why she was never afraid. It was a miracle.
  But the greater miracle of Ella Scarborough was that after she 
counted her many blessings, she extended those blessings to others, 
both as a member of her faith home, Friendship Missionary Baptist 
Church, and then as an elected official and public servant.
  Blessings are not just ours to have but to give.
  That was the lesson that I hope we can all learn from Councilwoman, 
Commissioner, and Chairwoman Ella Scarborough as we honor and remember 
her today.

                          ____________________