[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 17 (Tuesday, February 11, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H412-H413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO U.S. AMBASSADOR CARL B. STOKES

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the memory and the 
accomplishments of U.S. Ambassador Carl B. Stokes who passed away in 
1996 after a long and distinguished career as a political leader. The 
world will always remember him as the first African American mayor of a 
major American city. I will always remember him as a friend, a 
confidante, and a mentor who helped me navigate the rough waters of 
Cleveland politics.
  Carl B. Stokes was born in 1927, the son of a laundry worker who died 
when he was 2 years old. His mother worked as a domestic. He and his 
brother, the Honorable Louis Stokes, who serves as Congressman, worked 
in neighborhood stores and delivered newspapers to help the family.
  Over the years Carl Stokes excelled in many aspects of life: as a 
soldier during World War II; as a middleweight boxing champion in 1948; 
as an attorney and investigator for the Ohio Department of Liquor 
Control. In 1962, he

[[Page H413]]

became the first black Democrat elected to the Ohio House. In 1967, he 
became mayor of Cleveland, serving during a critical time in the 
history of my home town. After 4 years as mayor, he moved on to a 
television journalism career in New York City, to election as a 
municipal judge and finally as U.S. Ambassador to the Seychelles.
  The Reverend Jesse Jackson said about Carl Stokes, all that exists 
now in the political spectrum for African-Americans are seeds from 
trees that Carl Stokes planted. He has left a proud legacy to his 
family, to the Cleveland community and to America.

               Obituary of U.S. Ambassador Carl B. Stokes

       Carl Burton Stokes died on April 3, 1996, at the age of 68, 
     following a battle with cancer. With his passing, America 
     mourned the loss of one of its most famous sons. Ambassador 
     Stokes may be one of America's most vivid examples of how 
     this nation has responded to the drive for success by the 
     members of what was only one hundred and thirty-three years 
     ago an enslaved group of people. Ambassador Stokes' life has 
     been one of a series of ``firsts'' for African Americans. 
     America's first Black mayor of a major American city became 
     the first African American ever to be elected to all three 
     branches of government--the legislative, the executive and 
     the judicial.
       In November, 1962, Stokes became the first Black Democrat 
     in the history of the State of Ohio to be elected to the Ohio 
     General Assembly. He was re-elected in 1964 and 1966. At that 
     time, members of the Assembly were elected county-wide. 
     Cuyahoga County's population was only 14% Black. Stokes 
     remains the only Black Democrat ever elected county-wide to 
     the Ohio State Legislature.
       On November 13, 1967, Stokes attracted international 
     attention when he was sworn in as Mayor of the City of 
     Cleveland--the first Black mayor of a major American city, 
     population 810,000. Since Cleveland was only 37% Black at 
     that time, it also marked the first time an African American 
     has been elected mayor of a predominately white major city of 
     this nation.
       In that election, Clevelanders selected Stokes, the 
     grandson of a slave over Seth Taft, the grandson of a United 
     States President. Subsequently, Mayor Stokes was asked by the 
     White House to represent the United States on goodwill trips 
     to Europe. As such, he was received by many heads of state, 
     including nations where relations were strained, such as 
     Romania and Yugoslavia. He was also sent to the Caribbean on 
     missions to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Trinidad. 
     His visit to Israel resulted in a friendship with Mayor Teddy 
     Kolleck of Jerusalem that endures to this day.
       In 1970, the 15,000 member National League of Cities, 
     composed of mayors and city and county officials from 
     throughout the nation, unanimously voted Stokes as president-
     elect to head their organization--the first Black official 
     ever to hold that office.
       Having completed two terms as mayor, Stokes decided to end 
     his political career and begin a new one in broadcast 
     journalism. In April, 1972, Carl Stokes became the first 
     Black anchorman to appear daily on a television news program 
     in New York City. At NBC's flagship station, WNBC-TV, Stokes 
     also served as urban affairs editor and was often assigned to 
     the United Nations where he interviewed many heads of state 
     and other foreign dignitaries. Additionally, as a 
     correspondent, he traveled throughout several nations of 
     Africa, including Gambia, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, 
     and Zimbabwe.
       In September, 1980, after eight years as an award-winning 
     broadcast journalist, Stokes returned to Cleveland and to the 
     practice of law. He became the first Black lawyer to serve as 
     General Counsel to a major American labor union--the United 
     Auto Workers, Region 2 and 2A. Stokes also represented 
     Cleveland's largest city labor union--Laborers' Local 1099, 
     among others.
       On November 8, 1983, Stokes was elected as Judge of 
     Cleveland Municipal Court, Ohio's largest court. A few weeks 
     later, on December 22nd, his 12 colleagues elected him 
     Administrative Judge of the Court. And on January 9, 1984, 
     his fellow-judges elected him as their Presiding Judge. Never 
     before had a freshman judge been elected Administrative/
     Presiding Judge of the thirteen-judge Municipal Court. He 
     served two terms as head of the Court.
       Ambassador Stokes' election was a benchmark in American 
     history since few Americans--and no other African American--
     has ever been elected to the legislative, executive, and 
     judicial branches of government in our nation.
       Carl Stokes was born on June 21, 1927, in Cleveland, Ohio. 
     He was only two years old when his father, Charles, a laundry 
     worker, died. His widowed mother, Mrs. Louise Stokes, 
     supported her two sons by working as a domestic and for a 
     time the family was on public assistance. He and his older 
     brother, Louis, who is now in his 14th term as Ohio's first 
     Black U.S. Congressman, augmented the family income as 
     newspaper carriers for the Old Cleveland News, and by working 
     in neighborhood stores. Congressman Stokes is the senior 
     member from the Ohio delegation to Congress and is the 
     ranking minority member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on 
     Veterans Affairs-Housing and Urban Development-Independent 
     Agencies.
       Once a high school drop-out, Ambassador Stokes has received 
     honorary doctorate degrees from 14 colleges and universities 
     around the country. He has been a visiting lecturer at 
     academic universities and business institutions throughout 
     the United States, Trinidad, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, 
     England, France, Germany and Italy.
       On Tuesday, November 2, 1993, Stokes was re-elected to a 
     third six-year term as Judge of Cleveland Municipal Court.
       On Friday, August 26, 1994, President Bill Clinton 
     appointed then-Judge Stokes as his Ambassador Extraordinary 
     and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Republic of 
     the Seychelles. In this post, Carl was given the opportunity 
     not only to serve the United States in a diplomatic position, 
     but he also derived the satisfaction of displaying his 
     professional qualifications in an international forum. Carl 
     served as Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles until the 
     time of his death.
       The passing of Carl Burton Stokes brings to close a life of 
     love, commitment and inspiration. He was a leader, a 
     visionary, a role model, and above all, a pioneer. His feat 
     of becoming America's first Black mayor of a major American 
     city changed the landscape of American politics. But above 
     all, Carl was proudest of the fact that he was the first 
     Black American to acquire the political power to break down 
     barriers and open unprecedented opportunities for minorities. 
     This will stand as a legacy and lasting tribute to a 
     remarkable individual.
       Left to mourn Carl's passing is his loving wife, Raija 
     Stokes; two sons, Carl B. Stokes, Jr., and Cordell E. Stokes; 
     a stepson, Sasha Kostadinov; and two daughters, Cordi D. Awad 
     and Cynthia Sophia Stokes. In addition, he leaves to mourn 
     two granddaughters, Jevonne Laraija Stokes and Cybil Quinn 
     McBee; a grandson, Cordell E. Stokes, Jr., and his brother 
     and sister-in-law, Louis and Jay Stokes. Other relatives 
     include a nephew, Chuck Stokes; three nieces, Shelley Stokes 
     Hammond, Judge Angela R. Stokes and Lori Stokes Thompson. 
     Additionally, Carl leaves to mourn Linton Freeman, whom Carl 
     considered to be a special cousin and dean of the family. He 
     also leaves Wynona Jones, Elizabeth Bowes, Blanche Richards, 
     Katie Walker, and a host of other relatives and friends, all 
     of whom were special to Carl in his lifetime.

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