Alderman Jerrell Hargraves, who died unexpectedly this week, brought a quiet, unassuming demeanor to his work as the city’s human rights officer and on the Common Council representing Ward 2. When Jerrell spoke in that baritone voice on any issue before the Council he had something substantive to say and all sides listened.
New Britain’s commemorations of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birth and assassination are important occasions to bring people together for social justice and community service every year. I’ve been attending them since I moved to New Britain in the 1980s. Jerrell, working closely with CHRO Chair Jessica Angelo-Julien, made these city observances for Rev. King unifying and uplifting, most recently on January 19th at the Roosevelt School campus.
Through Jerrell’s behind the scenes leadership and the work of the commission, groups such as the NAACP, Mary McLeod Bethune Club, the Ministerial Alliance and the School District collaborated to organize programs with compelling speakers and the involvement of students of all ages.
“Jerrell became the CHRO Officer of my Commission and served as my right hand for 8 years,” wrote Angelo-Julien in a social media post. “Now this has taken me by shock and surprise. My heart goes out to his family. How do we move forward without you?”
(John McNamara photo)
In October 2023 the city marked the 30th anniversary of Martin Luther King Park on Stanley Street. At the time Alderman Hargraves re-established a commemorative naming brick program sponsored by CHRO from which donations are used to maintain the park located in what once was a thriving African American neighborhood.
Jerrell led the city’s fair housing efforts and managed the Fair Rent Commission (FRC) where tenants have sought relief from excessive increases imposed by absentee landlords under the FRC ordinance. With a growing caseload, Hargraves engaged parties in mediation before bringing complaints to the Commission. He helped to strengthen the ordinance by co-sponsoring an amendment last year to allow more tenants to seek relief from gouging.
Of Hargraves’ FRC role, Bill Shortell, a former Democratic Town Chair and labor activist, praised Hargraves for his “great work. When my apartment complex got smacked with ‘unconscionable’ rent increases by a New York landlord, he was supportive and helpful to a degree I had never expected.”
After a January Council meeting last month, I walked out of City Hall with Jerrell and mentioned a conversation I had with an East Side tenant I met at December’s Senior Center Christmas luncheon. She offered appreciation and praise for Jerrell in handling her case that also led to a reduction in rent by the commission. Jerrell accepted my story with a shrug. For him helping others was all in a day’s work.
In his too brief life Alderman Hargraves exemplified what my Rotarian friends strive for: “service above self”. He reliably served his constituents and the whole community with distinction and respect for others in more than 20 years at City Hall.
Condolences to Jerrell’s family, his Council and City Hall colleagues and friends. May his memory be a blessing.
John McNamara is Ward 4 Alderman and the Common Council Majority Leader.
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