Before Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam headed to the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the White House last month, he dusted off a beloved wool coat that had belonged to his grandfather to bring a piece of his family with him.
The coat sparked an emotional exchange with the president of the United States.
“My grandfather bought the coat when we left Sri Lanka and moved to England. When he passed away, my grandmother gave it to me,” Arulampalam said Wednesday. “I was thinking about that when I was in the Blue Room of the White House and started to be overcome with emotions.”
Arulampalam’s family fled Sri Lanka in 1983 at the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War and moved to England before settling in Zimbabwe. Arulampalam relocated with his family to California before earning his bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. His grandfather passed away in 1997.
Arulampalam was invited to the White House as part of the annual invitation for new mayors around the country. Mayors from Chicago, Nashville, Jacksonville, and Colorado Springs were there to network and learn more about federal resources available to them.
“They sat us down with a number of cabinet secretaries and helped us understand how to navigate the process of reaching out to the White House,” Arulampalam said. “We were told initially that we were attending a speech by the president, but we were all very surprised when they said that we would get to meet the president as well.”
“When I met President Biden, I told him I was wearing the coat my grandfather wore, and that I’m sure he never imagined his oldest grandson would be shaking the hand of the president of the United States,” Arulampalam said. “I started getting emotional.”
But what happened next stunned the newly elected mayor.
“After letting all the other mayors go, he asked if I could stay behind and call my parents,” Arulampalam said. “So I called them and put them on speaker. When I told them the president wanted to talk with them, they were amazed. My Mom clung to every word. He talked to them for about seven to eight minutes. He told them about his family heritage in Ireland, his childhood growing up. It was an incredible moment.”
After completing the call, Arulampalam said his phone began to ring and Biden asked if he could pick it up.
“Hello. This is Joe Biden,” the voice said.
Arulampalam said his wife, Liza, was on the other line.
“She was stunned,” Arulampalam said. “She wasn’t expecting that.”
Biden then asked if he could put the call on FaceTime and talk with both his wife and his kids who were at home. Arulampalam, who has five children, said that they asked if they could meet the president.
“He told our oldest son about how he was the oldest of his brothers and sisters,” Arulampalam said. “He asked my kids if they’re taking care of their mom. We were all very impressed that he took time away from these very important mayors to talk with our kids. It was remarkable. My kids are still talking about it.”
The mayor said that while it may seem trivial, the moment left an impression on him and his family.
“On a personal note, we were very touched and moved by the gesture,” Arulampalam said. “I believe my family’s story, of refugees who came to this country with a a little boy who would go on to become Mayor of Connecticut’s capital city, is as American a story as there is. It means something to have a President who feels that in his bones, and who celebrates that. In an election year it’s not lost on me that the other guy feels very differently about what the American dream means.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
