[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11568-H11571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CARL B. STOKES UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate 
consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 4133) to designate the 
United States courthouse to be constructed at the corner of Superior 
and Huron Roads, in Cleveland, Ohio, as the ``Carl B. Stokes United 
States Courthouse.''

[[Page H11569]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I yield to 
the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest], the distinguished chairman 
of the subcommittee, to explain the bill.
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4133 is a bill which would designate the United 
States Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio as the Carl B. Stokes United 
States Courthouse.
  In 1962, Carl Stokes began a life devoted to public service upon his 
election to the Ohio General Assembly. Five years later, Carl Stokes 
broke new ground when he won Cleveland's mayoral race becoming the 
first African-American to be elected the mayor of a major city.
  Deciding not to seek reelection in 1971, Carl Stokes entered the 
field of journalism with WNBC-TV in New York City. For his work at 
WNBC, he received an Emmy Award.
  In 1983, Carl Stokes returned to Cleveland where he won election to 
Cleveland's municipal court. Within weeks, he was elected both 
presiding and administrative judge.
  After serving on the bench for 10 years, Carl Stokes assumed the 
position of chief statesman when in 1994 President Clinton appointed 
him the Ambassador to the African Island Republic of Seychelles. In 
this position, he advised emerging African nations on the establishment 
of a democratic form of government and lobbied the administration in 
support of the African Continent.
  Carl Stokes passed away on April 3, 1996. This is a fitting tribute 
to a man who dedicate so much of his life to public service. I support 
this bill and urge my colleague's support.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], the distinguished 
ranking member.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I 
thank the chairman of the subcommittee for considering this legislation 
and bringing it so expeditiously to the floor, and to the gentleman 
from Ohio for supporting the legislation for a fellow Ohioan.
  Carl Stokes is more than a fellow Ohioan. He is more than an American 
citizen. He was a pioneer in his time, one of the very first handful of 
African-Americans to be elected mayor, and mayor of a large city. At 
the time I think there were only four.
  As I recall, Mayor Hatcher was elected the same day, received 
somewhat greater public attention than did Carl Stokes, but Mayor 
Stokes came in at a time when Cleveland was experiencing severe 
economic difficulties, racial strife, social unrest, and he brought 
calm and restored economic progress and focus in the community, brought 
a great leadership quality to his service as mayor.
  Following his leadership, more than 350 African-Americans are now 
mayors of American cities. He led the way. He showed them that it could 
be done.
  He was a journalist, a political commentator, a television anchorman 
and Emmy Award winner, a devoted family man. I had the privilege of 
meeting him but once. That once, the hour I spent with him and a group 
of other mayors, was enough to make a lasting impression of a person 
really dedicated to community service, to his fellow human beings, and 
to the vision of a greater city, the city being the crossroads of 
civilization, and he made his City of Cleveland that very crossroads 
and launched the city on a great comeback.

                              {time}  1900

  It is very fitting that we designate the Carl B. Stokes United States 
Courthouse. We do his memory great justice and honor, and we expect 
that those who enter that courthouse will live up to that memory.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving my right to object, I 
yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 
LaTourette], an outstanding new Member.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. 
Traficant, for yielding me this time, and I want to also thank the 
gentleman from Maryland, Chairman Gilchrest, for moving this 
legislation so that we can complete it before we complete our work here 
in this session of Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, in April of this year Ambassador Carl B. Stokes died of 
cancer. Those of us in Washington may know Carl Stokes because he was 
the younger brother of one of our colleagues, U.S. Representative Louis 
R. Stokes. For many other Americans, however, Carl B. Stokes was a 
trailblazer who became the first black mayor of a major metropolitan 
U.S. city and paved the way for so many other African-Americans to seek 
public office.
  Carl B. Stokes grew up in the ghetto in Cleveland, but never let his 
surroundings hold him back. In fact,he made it his life's devotion to 
make a difference in the lives of others and to help others aspire to 
the greatness lurking within them. In 1962, Carl B. Stokes became the 
first black Democrat to be elected to the Ohio House of 
Representatives, winning a seat in Cuyahoga County, which at that time 
was only 14 percent black. Three years later, he made a bid for mayor 
of his hometown, Cleveland. He ran as an independent in the 1965 race 
and narrowly lost to the Democratic incumbent. The loss would have 
deterred many, but it served as motivation to Carl B. Stokes.
  In 1967, Carl B. Stokes returned to the fray and beat the city's 
mayor in the Democratic primary by 20,000 votes. Carl B. Stokes, who 
was raised by a single, widowed mother in one of the country's first 
public housing complexes for the poor, then faced a member of one of 
Ohio's and this country's most notable political families--the Tafts. 
That November, Carl B. Stokes, the great-grandson of a slave, defeated 
Seth Taft, the grandson of President William Howard Taft.
  At that time, less than 40 percent of Cleveland's population was 
black. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said of this historic election, 
``Once again American voters have successfully hurdled the barrier of 
race.'' Meanwhile, at his election-night victory party, Carl B. Stokes 
said until that very moment he had never known the full meaning of the 
words ``God Bless America.''
  Carl B. Stokes served two terms as mayor of Cleveland, and became the 
first black to head the National League of Cities in his second term. 
He left Cleveland to face other challenges, and wound up in New York 
City, where he became that city's first black television anchorman.
  Carl B. Stokes returned to his hometown in the 1980's, and later was 
elected a Cleveland Municipal Court Judge, serving from 1983 to 1994. 
In 1994, President Clinton appointed Carl B. Stokes as ambassador of 
the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. He served in that post 
until a year ago June when he was diagnosed with cancer of the 
esophagus.
  At his funeral, Carl B. Stokes was remembered with great fondness and 
admiration. The Reverend Jesse Jackson delivered the eulogy, calling 
Carl B. Stokes a ``dream maker, an odds buster,'' and noting that he 
never internalized ``ghetto limitations.'' President Clinton, 
meanwhile, praised Carl B. Stokes' ``legacy of public service that 
continues to inspire us all.''
  Of course, few were able to capture the essence of magic of Carl B. 
Stokes more than his brother, Lou, who described his brother's life 
this way:

       A life that has been a series of firsts for African-
     Americans. A life that opened up doors and opportunities and 
     raised the aspirations of African-Americans everywhere. He 
     wrote a different American story. He wrote the poor American 
     black boy's story. He didn't rise from rags to riches. He 
     went from poverty to power. And he used that power to help 
     people.

  In Cleveland, OH, Carl B. Stokes is revered. Cleveland will never 
forget his contributions as Mayor Stokes, Judge Stokes, and Ambassador 
Stokes. He served his city and his country with dignity and purpose. It 
is now left up to his very capable brother, Lou, to continue the 
Stokes' family legacy of service to others.
  It is only fitting that an important piece of the Cleveland 
architectural and political landscape be memorialized in his name. It 
is for that reason that I have proposed naming the new

[[Page H11570]]

Federal courthouse at Huron and Superior roads in Cleveland the ``Carl 
B. Stokes United States Courthouse.''
  Carl B. Stokes was a true visionary and one of Cleveland's most 
remarkable sons. He forever changed the face of urban governing, and 
left an indelible mark on his hometown and his country. Carl B. Stokes 
honored his city, and it is appropriate that his city honor him in 
return, making permanent his legacy in the ``Carl B. Stokes United 
States Courthouse.''
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving my right to object, I 
yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur], one of Ohio's 
brightest stars.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and I wish to join my colleagues in strong support of this 
measure designating the Carl B. Stokes Courthouse in the great city of 
Cleveland.
  As a young girl growing up in Ohio, it was rather interesting to me 
to first learn of Carl Stokes through television from a city 2\1/2\ 
hours east of Toledo, and to frame a lot of my own views of America 
through what we learned from him.
  Without a doubt, his successes as an elected official helped shape 
the views not just of the Buckeyes of Ohio but, in fact, of all of 
America because what he did was, in fact, so precedent setting.
  Looking back, for this generation of Americans now growing up, on his 
life, it may seem all so simple and it may seem as if all the pieces 
just fit into place. But having watched those times and lived through 
those times, his ability to retain composure under enormous pressures 
from those who probably did not understand what he was trying to 
accomplish, and trying to maintain a demeanor that would continue to 
build bridges across differences and points of view, and then looking 
at where he went with what he had makes him such a renaissance man to 
me.
  It is interesting to me not just where he went but where he came 
from. I know in this Chamber joining us tonight is his very 
distinguished brother, also of Cleveland, Congressman Lou Stokes. I 
remember once going on a trip with Lou through Cleveland where he 
showed us where they grew up. To see that and then to understand the 
family, two brothers, a very devoted mother, understanding where they 
came form and how far they have gone and how they have influenced the 
mindset of a Nation is truly, truly profound.
  So in helping to honor the mother and the family and certainly Carl 
Stokes in the naming of this courthouse, I lend my support to this 
measure to a man who was not just a mayor and not just a judge and not 
just an attorney's attorney, and not just an ambassador, but a true 
leader for us all.
  Those of us from the Buckeye State are very, very proud of Carl B. 
Stokes, very proud of the Stokes family and how they helped lead 
America into a new day.
  I thank the gentleman very much for yielding me the time and again 
lend my strong support to this very necessary measure.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving my right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Brown], another fine young 
legislator.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio and 
add my support for naming the Cleveland courthouse after my friend Carl 
Stokes.
  When I was, I believe, a teenager either in high school or perhaps 
college, I read ``Promises of Power,'' the story of Carl Stokes and how 
he overcame adversity and made so much of himself. He was elected to 
the State legislature and then moved on to become mayor of one of the 
great cities of this country.
  I never had the honor of knowing Carl Stokes when he was mayor. I got 
to know Carl Stokes after he became a judge and knew him obviously as 
Judge Stokes and saw the great kind of public service that he gave to 
northeast Ohio, to his city of Cleveland.
  Carl was elected mayor before his older brother, Lou, I believe, ever 
ran for anything. One of the highlights of this year for me was 
actually going to Carl Stokes' funeral, which was not a mournful time; 
it was a time of celebration in a lot of ways.
  I remember that Lou, and older brother, stood up at Carl's funeral 
and he said, and for those who knew Carl Stokes and those who know Lou, 
they know that Carl was very outgoing and very colorful and very 
outspoken and sometimes got a little carried away, and Lou is much more 
reserved. Lou is every bit as smart, but much more reserved and much 
quieter and lends his leadership in a different sort of way. I remember 
the highlight of the funeral probably was when Lou stood at the podium, 
and he looked up and he said Carl never really understood what it was 
like to be a younger brother.
  Again, one had to know both Lou and Carl to understand that. But 
while Carl was great in his way, of the kind of charismatic leadership 
that the time demanded, it was Carl, the younger brother, who always 
looked to Lou, the older brother, I think in quieter times. I do not 
think Carl would ever have admitted that in public, but the leadership 
they have both shown and given to this country is remarkable.
  I am pleased to lend my name and support to this resolution and to 
honor Carl Stokes for the work he did for Cleveland and the work he did 
nationally for this country and for our communities.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving my right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Sawyer], a distinguished leader 
from our State.
  (Mr. SAWYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAWYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise with enormous gratitude to all of our 
colleagues who have made it possible for this resolution to come before 
us this evening.
  There are certain people that a person comes across in their life who 
not only effect change in the era in which they live and work but have 
touched other people's lives in such a way that their work lives on 
long after them. Carl Stokes is precisely such a man.
  In the middle of the 1960's, during a time of tension and some 
discord in America's cities, Carl Stokes came to a kind of leadership 
that not only was a matter of managing a city, of helping to give 
direction at a time of disruption but, more than that, gave hope to an 
entire generation of young emerging adults.
  Nearly 30 years ago I was teaching in a school not far from where Lou 
and Carl Stokes grew up. My 7th, 8th, and 9th graders came to school 
prepared to learn. Central Junior High School at that time was a place 
known as the Harvard of the east side. It was a place where kids had 
parental support or grandparental support. But whatever they did, they 
knew their parents expected them to learn.
  As difficult as the situation may have been, it was an extraordinary 
opportunity both to teach, for me, and for them to learn, and perhaps 
for me to learn as well. The fact is that Carl Stokes stood as a model 
to an entire generation whose example gave them hope, inspiration and 
expectation that they could succeed in ways that their predecessors 
never had.
  That kind of ability to effect leadership stretches far beyond the 
business of balancing budgets or producing a police force or making 
sure the fire is kept put out or paving the streets and the sidewalks. 
It really is a matter of leadership. Carl Stokes was precisely such a 
man.
  And 25, perhaps not 25, 15 years later, when I was running for mayor 
of my city, Carl Stokes appeared at a dinner at which he was a guest, 
not a speaker at all. He noticed me from the audience and asked me to 
stand and held out a standard of what it means to be a mayor that can 
only be offered by someone who has walked the walk and lived the 
challenge that that entails.
  That is what Carl Stokes was at every point in his life, a man who 
confronted the difficult and provided real opportunity and hope for 
others.
  Far more than those several thousand kids that I taught during the 
time when I was at Central, he moved an entire generation. The work 
they do not only today in Cleveland, OH, but as they have moved 
throughout the Nation, is in some way affected by the quality of 
leadership that he gave. That is the kind of life that lives on in 
those who he has touched, far more in number than he ever knew but far 
more lasting than most of us can ever hope for.
  In that sense what we do here today in recognizing him through the 
naming

[[Page H11571]]

of this courthouse really represents an opportunity to have that story 
told over and over again to people for whom it will continue to have 
meaning for generations to come.
  I thank the gentleman for this opportunity.

                              {time}  1915

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Lou Stokes, one of America's 
great legislators and leaders, the dean of the Ohio delegation we are 
so proud of and the brother of Carl Stokes.
  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], for yielding to me. 
I will just take a moment or two.
  First, I want to thank Mr. Gilchrest, the chairman of the committee, 
for bringing this resolution to the floor naming the new Federal 
building in Cleveland after my late brother Ambassador Carl B. Stokes. 
Second, I want to thank Mr. Traficant, the ranking member of the 
committee, for his actions in making this resolution possible today and 
for the actions that he has taken to bring it forth to the floor.
  I also want to thank my good friend and colleague from Cleveland, OH, 
Mr. LaTourette, the sponsor of this legislation, and all of those who 
joined as cosponsors of the legislation, along with all of my 
colleagues who have taken time out of their busy schedules to eulogize 
my brother in the very elegant and eloquent manner in which he has been 
eulogized from this floor today.
  I shall not endeavor in any respect to add to those eulogies. I think 
that the individuals who have spoken here today have certainly been far 
more eloquent than I. Suffice it to say that I want to express to each 
and every one of you my personal and heartfelt appreciation and for the 
honor that you have given not only the memory and legacy of my brother 
Carl but also the honor you pay the Stokes family and what we have 
tried to represent in terms of our careers.

  Carl and I were both fortunate enough to have a mother who believed 
fervently in this country, and though she was a woman who was relegated 
to poverty and who herself only had an 8th grade education, she had 
great faith in this country and she had great faith that given an 
education, her two boys could become whoever they wanted to be in this 
country. Of course, in her wildest dreams she never anticipated that 
either one of us would do more than acquire the dream she had, and that 
dream was that we would both acquire high school diplomas.
  That was her dream. She knew she could never send these two boys to 
college because of her poverty-stricken condition, a mother who was a 
domestic worker, one who was also on welfare. But she thought if she 
could just get that diploma, that these two boys could be somebody. 
Those were the words she preached to us all the time: Be somebody, get 
an education, get something in your head so you do not have to work 
with your hands the way I worked with my hands all of my life.
  Carl, who was a dropout from high school, later came out of the 
service and saw that I had gone to college and he, too, followed me 
then to take advantage of the GI bill. Of course the rest is history. 
Carl loved this country. He loved the opportunity that he was given in 
this country, in spite of circumstances of birth, to become the 
outstanding person that he was in his lifetime. So I thank you for 
recognizing his contributions during the course of his life and express 
my heartfelt appreciation to all of you for the honors you have paid 
the Stokes family.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation of objection, 
being from Youngstown, OH, some 65 miles away, I remember that race for 
mayor. I believe that mayor's race is one of the most significant 
political events in our Nation's history.
  People in Youngstown, OH went to Cleveland and helped to campaign, 
not just black people, white people as well. The Stokes family has been 
known for fairness. Color has never had anything to do with it. I once 
was on trail for my life, literally, and I was acquitted. I got a 
little note in the mail from Carl Stokes. He said, ``Congratulations. 
Go to law school.'' That is all he said.
  It was evident that he was not only a good politician but he followed 
current events and he became one of the strongest political forces in 
Ohio history, perhaps only surpassed by his very humble brother here. 
But I would just like to say that when he was elected, he was not just 
elected. He defeated, as Mr. LaTourette has said, the grandson of a 
U.S. President, Seth Taft, and that let all minorities in America know 
that the system can work, that you have to work at it. There was 
history made in Cleveland, great history that we are all proud of.
  As a result, we are all here tonight because we are proud of the 
designation of this courthouse being named after our great former Mayor 
Carl B. Stokes.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Further reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I 
yield to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Gilchrest].
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to the gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Stokes], his eloquence is evident as a result of the love and 
friendship he has for his brother and his mother.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 4133

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse to be constructed at the 
     corner of superior and Huron Roads, in Cleveland, Ohio, shall 
     be known and designated as the ``Carl B. Stokes United States 
     Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``Carl B. Stokes United States Courthouse''.

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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