Here’s to Ella Scarborough: ‘We are all benefiting from her light’

Late last year, I wrote an article about giving Mecklenburg County Commissioner Ella Scarborough her flowers while she was still here.

When the stories are spoken and the history books are written, women like her — Black women who are trailblazers and history makers — are not often given the honor that they deserve. So I make it my mission to keep account of our accomplishments.

I make it my ministry to speak our stories. I make it my pleasure to sing our praises. In life and in death, we pay homage to our “‘sheroes.” We create space to mourn the life that was and to feel gratitude for the impact that she left.

We speak the name and the stories of our dear, beloved Ella Scarborough because stories like hers deserve to be spoken. She was a purposeful, powerful and prominent member of our community who left this world a bit brighter than she found it — and we all are benefiting from her light.

Last week, Commissioner Scarborough answered a call that we will all answer one day. As she slipped out of this life and made the ultimate transition, she left behind a legacy that will live on for generations to come.

Many have had the opportunity to benefit from her hard work. Simply raising one’s hand for service has never been enough. Her work was much more than that. It was clear that she was here to fight for her people.

She was courageous and audacious enough to run for elected seats that women like her had never sat in before. She was willing to believe that we could end homelessness in Mecklenburg County. She was a public servant, and we are all greater because she was here.

All of that is enough for any person to be proud of. It’s more than most will do in a lifetime. Her resume is stellar. We can’t deny that. But beyond the resume is the human that she was. Like many others, I only shared space with her a few times over the years. But each time I was in her presence, I left that moment remembering how she made me feel. Seen. Loved. Important. Like I belonged in the room.

A quick social media search of her name will reflect that I wasn’t the only one who she made feel that way. Since her passing, folks have been posting their reflections of who she was and what she meant to them. There are quite a few posts and comments where people share about the moments that she made them feel special, about the moments that she made them feel seen.

Service is important. The work that she did will always speak for her. However giving people the power of feeling like the world needs them and like they matter in the moment, is next-level goodness. That is a legacy that changes cities and moves people. It reminds us that in a small moment, we can make our neighbors remember that they belong, that they are needed, and that they have a home here.

A woman who believed that everyone needed a home, was a woman who made people feel at home, simply by being in her presence. Her presence was honorable. It was history-making. Her presence was a reminder of home.

She reminded us of the beauty that exists here and ultimately that exists within. She reminded me and so many other Black women and girls of who we are and what we can be when we are willing to give of what has been given to us.

Ella Scarborough gave to us a blueprint for how to lead with grace, a reminder that people won’t always remember what you say but they will always remember how you made them feel, and flowers. She gave us flowers while she was here.

They say that one generation plants the seeds and another gets the shade. May we all give beautiful like she gave beautiful and may our entire community blossom from the seeds that she has planted.

This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 9:17 AM.