[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5818-H5823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING REPRESENTATIVE LOUIS STOKES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized
for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the minority leader.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend deepest thanks to
Congressman Garamendi for sharing his time with us and, also, to
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who has been waiting almost an
hour to share her memories of a very great American.
We are here this evening, Mr. Speaker, and we rise to honor the
illustrious career of a dear friend and stellar colleague, the late
Congressman Louis Stokes from Cleveland, Ohio.
Our hearts are heavy, but immensely grateful for his path-breaking
life and legendary generous service. As the first African American
Member of Congress elected to serve from Ohio, he wrote new history for
America, for Ohio, every day of his life.
Rising from the public housing projects of Cleveland, he and his
brother Carl became revered as they built a more inclusive and
representative America. What courage and passion that required.
A proud, personable, and gracious man whose fashion and manner exuded
dignity, it was actually never his aspiration to be a politician. He
opted instead to serve the local neighborhoods of Cleveland, where he
grew up, after returning from 3 years of service in the U.S. Army
during World War II.
After using his GI benefits to go to college, Lou served in the
Veterans Administration and the Treasury Department before attending
law school. He loved the law. He loved being a lawyer, and he loved
writing laws here.
His enlightened leadership moved America forward socially,
economically, and legally. In Congress, his gentlemanly demeanor and
sharp intellect allowed him to chair, again, as the first African
American, the Appropriations subcommittee on Veterans, Housing and
Urban Development, and Independent Agencies.
As a much newer, younger Member of Congress, I had the great
privilege of serving under him as he chaired that important committee.
He also chaired the House Select Committee on Assassinations and
served on the House Select Committee to investigate covert arms
transactions with Iran. His agile legal mind was evident in the
investigations he conducted.
The people of Cleveland and Ohio have been blessed throughout his
life and hold abiding gratitude for his extraordinary accomplishments
and generous spirit. I can still hear his laugh.
I am privileged, actually, to have served with Congressman Stokes for
almost a quarter century and hold lasting memories of his deep love for
his wife, for his mother, for his brother, for his children, and his
grandchildren.
He had indefatigable and inspired efforts to gain respect and equal
justice in the law for all of our citizens. And he saw progress, great
progress, in his lifetime that we have so far to go.
I witnessed his perseverance in building America's communities
forward and his dedication to meeting our Nation's obligations to
veterans, to advance space science, and to catapult Cleveland's health
and human services to the top rung of national assets.
I have so many memories of Congressman Stokes. I can remember one
time in a subcommittee he had the head of Arlington Cemetery come up,
and he had these big volumes that he brought with him of who were the
veterans who were interred there.
And Congressman Stokes pointed out to the entire committee, ``Go down
and read the roster.'' And the roster said, ``No name,'' ``No name,''
``No name,'' ``No name.'' And Congressman Stokes informed us that, in
fact, those were Africa Americans who had died in service to our
country, but they were buried with no name at Arlington. And he made
sure that that area was especially recognized, and he was writing
history for America for the first time.
I thought, wow, this isn't 1870. This was in the 1980s and 1990s. He
was a great teacher.
I shall sorely miss his dogged determination, easy smile, keen and
measured counsel, and persevering nature.
The last time we were together was at a Fair Housing meeting in
Cleveland, Ohio, just a few months ago. Looking back on his generous
attendance at age 90 and looking in really great shape, I think it was
his way--he hadn't told anyone yet what was ailing him, but I think it
was his way of saying good-bye.
What a gracious gentleman he was. What a gifted leader has lived
among us.
I am going to place in the Congressional Record a special story that
was in the Cleveland Plain Dealer entitled, ``Lou Stokes--The
Congressman, Leading Lawyer, and Towering Political Presence Has
Died,'' written by Brent Larkin, Tom Diemer, and Sabrina Eaton of the
Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Though I won't read the entire article into the record tonight, let
me just read a few sentences:
``We have been blessed as a family with a legacy we can always be
proud of,'' Lou Stokes said. ``Together with Carl''--his brother--``we
made a name that stood for something. What greater honor could have
come to two brothers who grew up in poverty here in Cleveland?''
And he tells a story about his mother. He would always get tears in
his eyes when he would talk of his mother. She had become ill at one
point, and he went to visit her.
And he said, ``I took her hands to give her some comfort and, when I
felt those hard, cold hands from scrubbing floors in order to give me
an education, I began to understand what her life was about, what her
life meant.'' And that piercing memory Lou carried with him every day
of his life.
``Beginning in junior high school, Stokes took jobs delivering the
Cleveland News, shining shoes, and working in a small factory that made
canned whipped cream.''
When he was 16, a man named Isadore Apisdorf hired him to perform odd
jobs at his Army-Navy surplus store on lower Prospect Avenue. Seeing
something in the youngster, Apisdorf ignored the risk to his business
in those days and hired Stokes as a salesman.
When speaking of his early years, Stokes always remembered to mention
the kindness demonstrated to him by a man ``who sort of acted like a
father to me,'' Congressman Stokes said.
Stokes graduated from Central High School in 1943. And with World War
II raging, he joined the Army and was assigned to a segregated unit
that remained Stateside, mainly in the south.
Stokes recalled a layover his unit once had in Memphis where a group
of
[[Page H5819]]
German prisoners of war in a train station restaurant were treated
better than the Black soldiers.
Louis Stokes embodied so many memories and so much progress that he
helped not just Cleveland, not just Ohio, but our country and people
everywhere to persevere, no matter what the odds.
I shall miss him. What a gifted leader has lived among us. I know all
of the people of Ohio join me, as do our colleagues, in saying: May the
angels carry him to a deserved, peaceful rest close to the heart of
God.
There are other Members that wish to speak this evening. I just feel
very honored to be here. I can still see Lou in the cloakroom in the
back with his good friend, Bill Clay, and some of the guys. We weren't
included, as women, in those conversations, but we respected them.
And he was always cordial. He always sort of stood halfway turned so
he could say hello to those Members going by. He had a special gracious
manner about him.
[From Cleveland.com, Aug. 19, 2015]
Lou Stokes--The Congressman, Leading Lawyer and Towering Political
Presence Has Died
(By Brent Larkin)
Cleveland, OH.--Louis Stokes, whose iconic career in public
life assures him a place as one of the most revered,
respected and powerful figures in Cleveland history, died
Tuesday night.
He was 90.
The older brother of former Mayor Carl B. Stokes had an
aggressive form of cancer, diagnosed in late June.
A proud, personable and gracious man whose dress and manner
exuded dignity, Stokes never wanted to be a politician,
aspiring instead to become Cleveland's leading black lawyer.
But the reluctant officeholder who came to Congress in 1969
left it 30 years later as a towering political figure both in
Washington and at home.
Mayor Frank Jackson was one of dozens to publicly mourn the
death of his longtime friend.
``Congressman Louis Stokes' long career in public life was
a model of how to serve with dignity, integrity and honor,''
Jackson said. ``His service paved the way for many who would
follow in both public and private careers. I know full well
that, but for him, I would have never had the opportunity to
become mayor.''
For more than three decades, Stokes, his brother, former
Council President George Forbes, and former Cleveland School
Board President Arnold Pinkney dominated every aspect of
black political life in the city.
Now, only Forbes survives.
``The four of us had parallel careers in public life,''
Forbes said. ``It was not unusual for some of the things we
did or said to be questioned. But not Lou Stokes. If he said
it, or did it, it was like a pronouncement from Sinai. It was
the gospel. It was the last word. No one disagreed with
him.''
Stokes' resume in the House included stints as chairman of
the select committee that from 1976 to 1978 investigated the
assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther
King Jr., chairman of the House Ethics Committee, a member of
the House select committee that investigated the Iran-Contra
affair, and the first black to chair the Intelligence
Committee and serve on the influential House Appropriations
Committee.
In Cleveland, Stokes' political muscle was the 21st
Congressional District Caucus, a political organization
founded by his late brother that became so powerful, its
ability to influence election outcomes sometimes surpassed
that of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party.
When Stokes and the caucus urged Democrats in his district
to vote against a sitting Democratic president in the Ohio
presidential primary in 1980, they did just that, supporting
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy over President Jimmy Carter
by a margin of nearly 2-1.
Stokes never lost an election. Nor did he forget where he
came from.
And he never strayed from his commitment to expand
political and economic opportunities for minorities.
In an interview at his home just a month before his death
and days after he learned of his terminal illness, Stokes
emotionally reminisced on his storybook life.
``I was a very blessed guy,'' he began. ``I've been blessed
with the opportunity to participate in history, to rise to
opportunities I never envisioned . . . and to provide for
people opportunities that, in many cases, they would have
never had.
``We have been blessed as a family with a legacy we can
always be proud of. Together with Carl, we made a name that
stood for something.
``What greater honor could have come to two brothers who
grew up in poverty here in Cleveland?''
Humble beginnings
Lou Stokes was born Feb. 23, 1925, the first of two
children born to Charles and Louise Stokes. Carl was born a
little more than two years later.
Their father died when Lou was three, and Louise Stokes
took an $8-a-day job as a domestic worker at homes in the
eastern suburbs. To help raise the young boys in their small
apartment on East 69th Street, Louise's mother moved to
Cleveland from Georgia.
Stokes spoke often and with great emotion of his mother,
and her repeated lectures on the importance of an education.
``One night, she was lying in bed ill and I went into her
room and sat with her,'' Stokes recalled during an interview
last year at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.
``I took her hands to give her some comfort. And when I
felt those hard, cold hands from scrubbing floors in order to
give me an education, I began to understand what she meant.''
Beginning in junior high, Stokes took jobs delivering the
Cleveland News, shining shoes and working in a small factory
that made canned whip cream.
When Stokes was 16, Isadore Apisdorf hired him to perform
odd jobs at his Army-Navy surplus store on lower Prospect
Avenue. Seeing something in the youngster, Apisdorf ignored
the risks to his business and hired Stokes as a salesman.
When speaking of his early years, Stokes always remembered
to mention the kindness demonstrated to him by a man ``who
sort of acted like a father to me.''
Stokes graduated from Central High School in 1943. With
World War II raging, he joined the Army and was assigned to a
segregated unit that remained stateside, mainly in the South.
Stokes recalled a layover his unit once had in Memphis where
a group of German prisoners of war in a train station
restaurant were treated better than the black soldiers.
After the war, Stokes attended Western Reserve University
on the G.I. Bill. He worked for a time for the Veterans
Administration and Treasury Department before graduating from
Cleveland State University's Cleveland Marshall College of
Law in 1953.
Stokes opened up a small law office on St. Clair Avenue,
and was later joined by his brother. Carl also became a
lawyer and, in 1962, became the first black Democrat elected
to the Ohio House.
Around this time, Stokes drew the attention of Norman
Minor, considered one of the greatest lawyers in Ohio history
and the greatest black lawyer Cleveland ever produced.
``I tried to be like Norman Minor in every way I could,''
Stokes recalled in 2014. ``Carl loved politics. I didn't have
that love. I loved being a lawyer.''
Making history
On the night of Nov. 7, 1967, Stokes sat with Martin Luther
King Jr. in the Rockefeller Building just west of Public
Square, and experienced what he described as ``a pioneering
political event for America''--Carl Stokes' election as the
nation's first black, big-city mayor.
In 1965 and again two years later, King had made numerous
trips to Cleveland aimed at registering blacks to vote. Carl
Stokes lost the 1965 mayoral primary by about 1,700 votes.
Two years later, he beat Republican Seth Taft by about 2,500
votes.
Lou Stokes said King was ``tremendously helpful'' to his
brother in both those elections.
Less than a month after his brother's winning election,
Stokes enjoyed his own first moment of fame, arguing a case
before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case involved John Terry, a Cleveland man suspected of
preparing to rob a Euclid Avenue store downtown in 1963.
Terry and two others were stopped on the sidewalk by a
Cleveland policeman, who frisked Terry and found a gun.
The landmark case of Terry v. Ohio upheld the arrest, but
allowed police to stop and frisk suspects only when the
officer has a ``reasonable suspicion'' the suspect is about
to commit a crime, and may be armed and dangerous.
That same year, another landmark Supreme Court ruling known
as ``one man, one vote'' led to Carl Stokes and Gov. James
Rhodes collaborating in the creation of a new, majority-
minority congressional district comprised of Cleveland's East
Side and some eastern suburbs.
At his brother's urging, a reluctant Lou Stokes put his law
career on hold and became a candidate. In the Democratic
primary, Stokes beat 13 opponents, including George Forbes,
Leo Jackson and George White.
In January 1969, Stokes entered Congress along with Shirley
Chisholm of New York and William ``Bill'' Clay of Missouri.
Their elections brought to nine the number of blacks in
Congress.
Stokes immediately began to make his mark, becoming a
founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus a little
more than a year after taking office.
Always served well by his personality, Stokes was a tall,
hard-working man with a loud, infectious laugh. His gentle
nature masked a steely commitment--and, at times, he was
viewed as a bit too thin-skinned. Nevertheless, among his
colleagues, Stokes was always considered one of the body's
most popular members.
When Tip O'Neill became speaker of the U.S. House in 1977,
Stokes' career took off. O'Neill's respect for Stokes earned
him prestigious and powerful committee assignments, which
often translated into federal spending on projects important
to Cleveland.
[[Page H5820]]
``We had a very special relationship,'' Stokes said of
O'Neill during his July 14 interview. ``He used to call me
`Louie, my pal.' He gave me some very tough assignments.''
In 1987, Stokes had a memorable back-and-forth with Oliver
North during the Iran-Contra hearings, telling the Marine
Corps lieutenant colonel, ``While I admire your love for
America, I just hope you will never forget that others, too,
love America just as much as you do--and . . . will die for
America just as quickly as you will.''
The power broker
Back in Cleveland, the 1971 decision by Carl Stokes to
leave town for a television career in New York instead of
seeking a third term as mayor created a significant power
vacuum within the black political establishment.
Stokes moved decisively to fill that vacuum, and Democratic
leaders awarded him a co-chairmanship of the county party.
But Forbes and Arnold Pinkney were becoming powerful black
political figures in their own right.
For the next 10 to 15 years, the inevitable tensions that
arise with power-sharing led to public disagreements and some
angry private moments--with Call and Post founder and
publisher W.O. Walker often serving as a mediator.
Over time, those strains disappeared. And while Forbes
would eventually cement a legacy as the most powerful City
Council president in Cleveland history and Pinkney twice
waged competitive campaigns for mayor and became a nationally
recognized political consultant, there was never any doubt
who owned the magic political name.
That name at times moved Stokes and the 21st Congressional
District Caucus to part ways with the Democratic Party. And
Stokes was not above using the caucus as a weapon to punish
and defeat candidates he believed did not deserve black
votes.
The caucus' influence was often most pronounced in down-
the-ballot races for judge and other offices. But in the 1977
election for mayor, one of the most competitive and dramatic
in the city's history, support from the Stokes brothers
probably made the difference in Dennis Kucinich's victory
over Democratic Party-backed Edward Feighan.
Tim Hagan served as Feighan's de facto campaign manager.
Several months after the election, he would become chairman
of the county's Democratic Party.
``If Congressman Stokes was with you, it gave you
unquestioned credibility with the people he represented,''
said Hagan. ``It made the difference between winning or
losing an election. Lou's endorsement was the most important
endorsement a candidate sought.''
There were a few stumbles, but none major. And they did
little or nothing to tarnish Stokes' relationship with his
constituents. [In 1983, following a late-night session of
Congress, he was convicted on a minor charge of driving under
the influence and also of running a red light; Stokes said he
was overly tired but sober, but decided not to appeal the
jury verdict.] In the early 1990s, he had 551 overdrafts at
the House Bank, most for small amounts.
In 1993, Stokes reached the height of his power in
Congress, joining the prestigious ``College of Cardinals''
when he became chair of the Appropriations subcommittee for
the Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban
Development. It was a position that gave Stokes enormous say
in how and where tens of billions in federal dollars were
spent. The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center on East
105th Street is one of several Cleveland buildings named in
his honor.
But his enthusiasm for the job would soon wane. In 1994,
Republicans took control of the House. Two years later, at
age 71, Stokes had open heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic
and a tumor removed from his vocal cords.
When, in April 1996, Carl Stokes died of cancer, Stokes
lost his best friend.
The denouement
By 1998, after 30 years in office, Stokes decided not to
seek re-election.
On the day he announced his retirement, Plain Dealer
columnist Elizabeth Auster wrote, ``Stokes brought more than
money home from Washington. He also brought laughter and
inspiration and pride. And sometimes those are harder to come
by.''
Then-Cleveland Mayor Michael White said of Stokes,
``Someone will fill his seat, but I don't think anyone will
ever fill his shoes.''
It was always a foregone conclusion Stokes' job would pass
to Stephanie Tubbs Jones, county prosecutor at the time. When
Tubbs Jones died unexpectedly in 2008, Marcia Fudge became
only the third person to hold the seat.
In retirement, Stokes became senior counsel at the
Cleveland-based law firm of what was then Squire Sanders &
Dempsey. He served on several corporate boards, including
Forest City Enterprises.
When asked in the July interview about the lack of civility
in Washington today, Stokes said he was sometimes embarrassed
to be a former member of Congress.
``I have members of Congress whom I see, on both sides of
the aisle, and they tell me, `Louie, you wouldn't want to be
here now.' It's a waste of your time and intellect to be
involved there now and see how difficult it is to concentrate
on doing what's best for people--considering you were sent
there to help people. That's gone now.''
Stokes retired from the law firm in 2012, and resigned from
the Forest City board last year. In recent months, he spent
time assisting his daughter, Cleveland Municipal Court Judge
Angela Stokes, who is contesting disciplinary charges filed
against her by the Ohio Supreme Court's Disciplinary Counsel.
Besides Angela, he is survived by his wife of 55 years,
Jeanette (Jay); daughter Shelley Stokes-Hammond, retired
public affairs director at Howard University; daughter Lori,
a television news anchor in New York City; son Chuck,
editorial and public affairs director at a Detroit television
station; and seven grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas,
who I know was a very, very dear friend of Congressman Stokes. I thank
her so much for joining us this evening.
{time} 2100
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to
join Congresswoman Kaptur in sharing some sentiments.
Mr. Speaker, I stand in recognition of the late Congressman Louis
Stokes, a dear friend and a tremendous patriot, who dedicated his life
to serving our great Nation. He was dedicated to expanding political
and economic opportunities for all Americans, and he was determined to
transcend the culture of discrimination and injustice.
Louis Stokes rose from humble beginnings in the local housing
projects of Cleveland, Ohio, to serve 30 years in the U.S. House of
Representatives. He was first elected in 1968. Reluctant to enter the
political arena, Stokes was persuaded to run for office by his younger
brother, Carl B. Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major
American city, elected in 1967.
Prior to serving in Congress, Mr. Stokes served as a civil rights
lawyer. He was the first African American to represent the State of
Ohio in Congress and was a founding member of the Congressional Black
Caucus. Throughout his tenure in the House, he chaired several
congressional committees and was the first African American to win a
seat on the House Committee on Appropriations.
During his long tenure in Congress, he headed and participated in
several major House investigations. In March of 1977, he was appointed
to lead the Select Committee on Assassinations, formed to conduct an
investigation of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of President
John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
He also served as the chairman of the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence and became the first African American Member
of Congress to head this committee.
He was the dean of the Ohio congressional delegation. His work in the
area of health led to his appointment as a member of the Pepper
Commission of comprehensive health care, and he was the founder and
chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust. In 1981,
he chaired the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
When Louis Stokes retired in 1998, he became the first African
American in the history of the U.S. Congress to retire after 30 years
of service. Following his service in Congress, he became a senior
counsel at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, LLP, a global law firm, and
distinguished visiting professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social
Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
He also served as a vice chairman of the Pew Environmental Health
Commission at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and was
appointed by the former Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna
Shalala, as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Minority Health.
As a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, he engineered
a vehicle that would foster collaboration and strategic alliances for
generations. Because of his visionary leadership, we all benefit from
an organization powerful enough to engage, empower, and excite
generations of African American leaders who influence the political
landscape, impact the outcome of elections, and serve as strong voices
for those weakened by poverty, discrimination, and lack of opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud and honored to have had the privilege of
serving with this Congressman. I was inspired by his intelligence,
preparation, dignity, generosity, and forward thinking.
[[Page H5821]]
He leaves behind a legacy that inspires not only those who served with
him, but a generation of future leaders.
I am grateful for this vision that he had, his integrity, his grace,
his friendship, and his mentorship.
Ms. KAPTUR. Thank you, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas,
a long way from Cleveland, for your great service and for sharing your
memories of our beloved friend, Congressman Louis Stokes.
General Leave
Ms. KAPTUR. I know others want to enter material in the Record in
memory of Congressman Stokes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5
legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to mention that Congressman
Stokes' beautiful wife, Jeanette, who was at his side through all his
years of service; his daughters, Angela, Shelley, Lori; his son, Chuck;
and seven grandchildren.
What an amazing family--the Stokes family has made many contributions
to Ohio and to our country, but I think Jeanette and Congressman Stokes
are proudest of the children and grandchildren that they have raised.
They have represented the family well during this most difficult time.
Honoring Speaker Jim Wright
Ms. KAPTUR. I would like to turn to a different subject, if I might,
in the remaining time.
Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago, there was a Special Order that was
given on Speaker Jim Wright, and I was unable, because of duties in
Ohio, to join my remarks to those of his friends and colleagues here in
the Congress. I rise tonight to honor him for the leader and master of
the legislative process that Speaker Jim Wright of Fort Worth, Texas,
was.
He approached life with an eager and courageous mission and a true
democratic heart. He loved this House. He just loved it. He just basked
in its glory and its power, and he had the keenness of intellect, the
balance of knowledge, the intuition, the direction, and the wisdom that
comes from the long years of experience that he had at the level of
Fort Worth and then the State of Texas and then, obviously, federally.
He was a veteran of World War II and had been a pilot and received
the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was truly--truly--a courageous hero
for our country and chose to serve then in elected life.
What I will forever remember of him was his dignity and his strength.
His personal ability to also forgive those who sought to harm him and
move on was an amazing trait, and I think it revealed some of what he
was able to bring as a negotiator and a statesman to the work here.
He was a passionate fighter for the people of our country, especially
those of ordinary means who might not have their voices heard, and when
he got into a topic that he loved, he was absolutely unstoppable.
He was a gifted orator. He spoke with all of his heart, and he
elevated this House and the people who served in it. He loved Congress.
He referred to it as a heady place to be, where Members of both
political parties should cooperate to make America a world leader and
to build and support a strong middle class.
His early life growing up during the Great Depression had a permanent
imprint on him, and he never forgot the common person. His service in
the Army during World War II instilled in him a life of service and a
dedication to help those less fortunate, but also a passion for
liberty.
His legislative achievements were legion. He helped create the Clean
Water Act and the Interstate Highway System, and he helped guarantee
benefits for returning veterans. I remember what a master he was. I
believe he chaired the House Public Works Committee and rose from
there.
I can still see him making the case, right at this podium here in the
House, for a modern transportation bill, clinking dimes in a large
glass bowl to say that we have to pay our way forward here. He
understood what it took to build and maintain a great nation's
prosperity. He was a terrific, terrific orator.
In foreign affairs, Speaker Wright had a contribution that one could
describe as profound. He was a peacemaker. He visited the Middle East
and facilitated the meeting that led to the accord between Israel and
Egypt in 1977.
More than a decade later, he led a successful push for a compromise
that would end the war between the Sandinista government and the
Contras in Nicaragua. Over time, his approach would lead to the end of
U.S. military financing and the start of democratically held elections
there. How many Americans can say they have ever been involved in
something of that magnitude?
In his farewell speech before Congress, Speaker Wright said: ``When
vengeance becomes more desirable than vindication, harsh personal
attacks on one another's motives, one another's character, drown out
the quiet logic of serious debate on important issues, things that we
ought to be involved ourselves in, surely that is unworthy of our
institution, unworthy of our American political process. All of us in
both parties must resolve to bring this period of mindless cannibalism
to an end. There has been enough of it.''
Speaker Wright returned to Fort Worth where he donated his official
papers to Texas Christian University's library and taught a TCU course
called Congress and the Presidents for more than 20 years. His
intention to keep the class small was simply impossible, as his
enrollment grew at an increasing rate every year.
Speaker Wright always treated me graciously. Here I was from Ohio, a
completely different part of the country, but I appreciate the fact
that he assisted my efforts to seek a seat on the Committee on
Appropriations--it took me over a decade to arrive there--since no one
from our part of Ohio had ever served on it.
He saw the exclusion, and he helped me. I am so grateful to him
forever for that and what I have been able to do to help the country in
that position.
He and I shared many experiences and pursuits during our shared years
in Congress, but one of my favorite memories is something we had in
common, and that was a love of gardening and roses. He was especially
fond of a gray-purplish variety of rose that he had raised to
perfection. He just loved life.
Speaker Wright would often quote Horace Greeley in saying: ``Fame is
a vapor; popularity an accident; riches take wings; those who cheer
today may curse tomorrow; only one thing endures--character.''
Speaker Wright was certainly a man of great character and great
talent and ability and great accomplishment.
We shall miss him greatly. May the hearts of his loved ones, his
beloved wife, Betty; his four children; 15 grandchildren; 24 great-
grandchildren; and his sister Betty Lee Wright be warmed by the light
of his memory and the legacy of liberty he bestowed upon us all and the
great affection we shall always have for him in our hearts.
May God bless the Wright family.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, Louis Stokes rose from the local
housing projects to serve 30 years in the U.S. House, becoming a potent
symbol for his Cleveland-based majority-black district. Reluctant to
enter the political arena, Stokes was persuaded to run for office by
his prominent brother and by community members he had served for
decades as a civil rights lawyer.
His accomplishments were substantive and of historic proportions. The
first Black to represent Ohio, Stokes chaired several congressional
committees (including the Permanent Select Intelligence Committee) and
was the first African American to win a seat on the powerful House
Appropriations Committee.
He used his success to try to increase opportunities for millions of
African Americans, saying, ``I'm going to keep on denouncing the
inequities of this system, but I'm going to work within it. To go
outside the system would be to deny myself--to deny my own existence.
I've beaten the system. I've proved it can be done--so have a lot of
others.'' Stokes continued, ``But the problem is that a black man has
to be extra special to win in this system. Why should you have to be a
super black to get someplace? That's what's wrong in the society. The
ordinary black man doesn't have the
[[Page H5822]]
same chance as the ordinary white man does.''
Louis Stokes was born on February 23, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to
Charles and Louise Cinthy (Stone) Stokes. His father worked in a
laundromat and died when Louis was young. Stokes and his younger
brother, Carl, were raised by their widowed mother, whose salary as a
domestic was supplemented by welfare payments. Louis Stokes
supplemented the family income by shining shoes around the Cleveland
projects and clerking at an Army/Navy store. He attended Cleveland's
public schools and served as a personnel specialist in the U.S. Army
from 1943 to 1946. He returned home with an honorable discharge, taking
jobs in the Veterans Administration and Treasury Department offices in
Cleveland while attending college at night with the help of the GI
Bill. He attended the Cleveland College of Western Reserve University
from 1946 to 1948. Stokes eventually earned a J.D. from the Cleveland
Marshall School of Law in 1953 and, with his brother, opened the law
firm Stokes and Stokes. On August 21, 1960, Louis Stokes married
Jeanette (Jay) Francis, and they raised four children: Shelly, Louis
C., Angela, and Lorene.
He devoted himself to his law practice, where he became involved in a
number of civil rights--related cases--often working pro bono on behalf
of poor clients and activists. He was an active participant in civic
affairs. Working on behalf of the Cleveland NAACP, Stokes helped
challenge the Ohio legislature's redistricting in 1965 that followed
the Supreme Court's ``one man, one vote'' decision.
The state legislature had fragmented the congressional districts that
overlay Cleveland, diluting black voting strength. Stokes joined forces
with Charles Lucas, a black Republican, to challenge that action. They
lost their case in U.S. District Court, but based on Stokes's written
appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the brief in 1967. From that
decision followed the creation of Ohio's first majority-black district.
Later that year, in December 1967, Stokes made an oral argument before
the U.S. Supreme Court in Terry v. Ohio, a precedent-setting case that
defined the legality of police search and seizure procedures.
At his brother Carl's behest Louis Stokes made his first run for
elective office in 1968. He sought to win the seat in the newly created
congressional district that encompassed much of the east side of
Cleveland. Stokes was hardly a typical newcomer to the political
campaign. First, his brother, Mayor Stokes, put the services of his
political network at Louis's disposal. Stokes won by a landslide. He
won his subsequent 14 general elections by lopsided margins in the
heavily Democratic district taking as much as 88 percent of the vote.
As a freshman Representative, Stokes received assignments on the
Education and Labor Committee and the Internal Security Committee
(formerly the House Un-American Activities Committee). He
enthusiastically accepted the former assignment, believing Education
and Labor would be a prime platform from which he could push the agenda
for his urban district: job training, economic opportunity, and
educational interests. But Stokes was less pleased with the Internal
Security panel, which had lapsed into an increasingly irrelevant entity
since its heyday investigating communists in the 1940s and 1950s.
(House leaders disbanded it entirely in the mid-1970s.)
During his second term in the House, Stokes earned a seat on the
Appropriations Committee. During more than two decades on the
committee, Stokes steered hundreds of millions of federal dollars into
projects in his home state. He eventually became an Appropriations
subcommittee chair, or ``cardinal,'' for Veterans, HUD, and Independent
Agencies. Stokes was the second African-American ``cardinal'' ever (the
first, Julian Dixon of California, chaired the DC Subcommittee). Years
later, Stokes said of the Appropriations Committee, ``It's the only
committee to be on. All the rest is window dressing.'' In addition to
chairing an Appropriations subcommittee, Stokes is one of fewer than
two dozen African Americans ever to chair a House committee and one of
just a handful to wield the gavel on multiple panels: the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence (100th Congress), the Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct (97th-98th Congresses, 102nd Congress),
and the Select Committee on Assassinations (95th Congress).
The growing ranks of black Members sought to create a power base,
realizing--in the words of Representative William (Bill) Clay, Sr. of
Missouri they ``had to parlay massive voting potential into concrete
economic results.'', As freshman House Members, Stokes and Clay quickly
developed an enduring friendship and became strong supporters of the
formation of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), to promote economic,
educational, and social issues that were important to African
Americans. This strategy dovetailed with Stokes's perception of his
role as an advocate for the ``black community'' in his district. Stokes
served as chairman of the CBC for two consecutive terms beginning in
1972, after Chairman Charles Diggs, Jr., of Michigan resigned from the
post. A centrist, Stokes was widely credited with shepherding the group
away from the polarizing politics of various black factions toward a
more stable and organized policy agenda.
Using his position as CBC chairman and his increasing influence on
the Appropriations Committee, Representative Stokes pushed a
legislative agenda that mirrored the needs of his majority-black
district. He earned a reputation as a congenial but determined activist
for minority issues, consistently scoring as one of the most liberal
Members of the House in the Americans for Democratic Action and the
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
vote tallies. He advocated more funding for education (particularly for
minority colleges), affirmative action programs to employ more blacks,
housing and urban development projects, and initiatives to improve
access to health care for working-class Americans. In the 1980s, Stokes
vocalized black concerns that the Ronald W. Reagan administration was
intent on rolling back minority gains made in the 1960s and 1970s. He
described conservative efforts to scale back school desegregation
efforts and affirmative action programs--as well as massive spending on
military programs--as a ``full scale attack'' on the priorities of the
black community. He also was an early advocate of federal government
intervention in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
From his seat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,
Stokes was a particularly forceful critic of the Reagan
administration's foreign policy. He gained national prominence as a
member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms
Transactions with Iran when he grilled Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North
in 1987 about his role in funding anticommunist Nicaraguan Contras
through weapons sales to Tehran. At one juncture he reminded North, ``I
wore [the uniform] as proudly as you do, even when our government
required black and white soldiers in the same Army to live, sleep, eat
and travel separate and apart, while fighting and dying for our
country.''
House leaders repeatedly sought to capitalize on Stokes's image as a
stable, trustworthy, and competent adjudicator--turning to him to lead
high-profile committees and handle controversial national issues, as
well as the occasional ethics scandals in the House. When
Representative Henry Gonzalez of Texas resigned as chairman of the
Select Committee on Assassinations, Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill of
Massachusetts tapped Stokes to lead the panel, which was investigating
the circumstances surrounding the deaths of President John F. Kennedy
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1978, Stokes's committee filed 27
volumes of hearings and a final report that recommended administrative
and legislative reforms. While the panel found that the King and the
Kennedy murders may have involved multiple assassins (James Earl Ray
and Lee Harvey Oswald have traditionally been described as lone
killers), it concluded there was no evidence to support assertions of a
broad conspiracy involving domestic groups or foreign governments--an
assessment that has been upheld for the past three decades. The
committee did suggest that Oswald may have had an accomplice on Dealey
Plaza, where Kennedy was killed in November 1963.
Stokes's chairmanship of the Select Committee on Assassinations led
to his appointment by Speaker O'Neill in 1981 as chairman of the House
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (often called the Ethics
Committee). Stokes steered the panel through a turbulent period that
included investigations of Members implicated in the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's ABSCAM sting and a sex scandal that involved two House
Members and current and former House Pages.
During the 1990s, Stokes's seniority made him an influential voice on
the Appropriations Committee. In 1993, at the start of the 103rd
Congress, he assumed the chairman's gavel of the Subcommittee on VA,
HUD, and Independent Agencies, which controlled one of the largest
chunks of discretionary spending in the federal budget. Stokes prodded
federal agencies to hire and serve more minorities. Republicans praised
him for his nonpartisan leadership of the subcommittee, but when the
GOP won control of the House in the 1994 elections, and Stokes became
the Ranking Member of the panel, he often found himself fighting
Republican efforts to trim federal spending that involved cutting
welfare programs, including public housing.
In January 1998, Stokes announced his retirement from the House,
noting that he wanted to leave ``without ever losing an election.''
Moreover, a new generation of rising black politicians Cleveland was
displacing those of Stokes's generation. Among his proudest
accomplishments as a Representative, Stokes
[[Page H5823]]
cited his ability to bring Appropriations Committee money to his
district to address needs in housing and urban development and the
opportunities that allowed him to set ``historic precedents'' as an
African American in the House. ``When I started this journey, I
realized that I was the first black American ever to hold this position
in this state,'' Stokes told a newspaper reporter. ``I had to write the
book . . . I was going to set a standard of excellence that would give
any successor something to shoot for.'' After his congressional career,
Louis Stokes resumed his work as a lawyer. He was a great American
Hero--to be admired and remembered by us all.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life of a truly
remarkable man--former Congressman Louis B. Stokes, who passed away
last month at the age of 90.
It was my honor to meet with Congressman Stokes when I was a staffer
in the office of Congressman Ron Dellums. I later had the honor to
serve with him as a member of the House of Representatives as we worked
to secure funding for homeless shelters in my district.
Congressman Stokes was a trailblazer.
Born in Cleveland in 1925, he loved his home city and his home state
of Ohio. And he was determined to improve the lives of everyone in his
community. After serving in the military, he returned home to become a
civil rights attorney and work on behalf of the poor and
disenfranchised.
Raised in poverty along with his brother Carl, he dreamed of a more
just and equal world. He refused to allow prejudice or adversity to
slow him down.
Through his life, Lou showed an unwavering commitment to the people
of Cleveland, and particularly the vulnerable and voiceless.
As the first African American member of Congress from Ohio--and an
original cofounder of the Congressional Black Caucus and founding chair
of the CBC's Health Brain Trust--Congressman Stokes was a proud voice
for civil rights and equality.
And as the first African American to serve on the House
Appropriations committee--the committee on which I now serve--
Congressman Stokes worked tirelessly to bring resources and
opportunities to folks struggling across the country.
In many ways, Congressman Stokes was ahead of his time. He was one of
the earliest and most vocal supporters of addressing the burgeoning
HIV/AIDS crisis.
As a veteran, he fought to ensure every veteran had the highest
possible quality services and care upon returning home. And as the
chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on Veterans Affairs and
Housing and Urban Development, he worked to ensure agency services
reached communities of color.
His work to combat discrimination in every form--housing, education,
health care access, economic opportunity and more--continues to inspire
me.
While Congressman Stokes will be greatly missed, his legacy and work
lives on.
By opening doors of opportunity, and inspiring generations of leaders
in Cleveland, Ohio and beyond, Congressman Lou Stokes has made our
nation a more just and equal place. He was a great man and a good
friend who will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his
family and my deepest gratitude for sharing this great human being with
us.
____________________