[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1661-1662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HAPPY BIRTHDAY FORMER CONGRESSMAN LOUIS STOKES

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise with great privilege to wish a very 
happy birthday that will come on February 23 to one of our most 
distinguished Members who served for so many years, Congressman Louis 
Stokes of Cleveland, Ohio. He will turn 87 on February 23. And truly, 
he deserves recognition during this Black History Month, and I pay him 
his due honor.
  He grew up in difficult circumstances in public housing. His widowed 
mother had to raise her two sons, one of which, Louis, became the first 
African American congressman ever elected from the State of Ohio, and 
his brother, Carl, the first African American mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. 
Can you imagine that family? Can you imagine their struggle?
  I wish to place in the Record tonight some of his story. One of the 
tremendous accomplishments that he achieved as an attorney was trying 
many cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, including a case which 
created Ohio's first mostly minority congressional district, and then 
later in life he had the opportunity to run for that seat. He changed 
the face of this country.
  I'm just so pleased to call him our friend, and let us take the time 
to fully recognize the admirable and path-breaking contributions of 
former Congressman Louis Stokes during this year's Black History Month. 
He deserves it.

[[Page 1662]]



                  [From Cleveland.com, Feb. 13, 2012]

   Lawyer Louis Stokes Became Ohio's First Black Congressman: Black 
                             History Month

                           (By Grant Segall)

       As part of Black History Month, we honor Louis Stokes, 
     Ohio's first black congressman.
       Stokes, who turns 87 on Feb. 23, still practices law with 
     Squire Sanders, mostly in Washington, D.C.
       At the Outhwaite housing project, a young, widowed Louise 
     Stokes used to display her hands, callused from maid's work, 
     and tell her boys to work with their minds. A calm, genial 
     Lou helped her raise his flamboyant kid brother, Carl, who 
     became the first black mayor of a major U.S. city.
       Lou graduated from Cleveland Central High School and after 
     serving three years in the military in World War II, earned 
     his law degree in 1953.
       He became a leading lawyer. He argued three cases before 
     the U.S. Supreme Court and persuaded it to create Ohio's 
     first mostly minority congressional district in 1968. Local 
     leaders persuaded him to represent it.
       In Washington, Stokes chaired a committee probing John F. 
     Kennedy's assassination, dressed down Col. Oliver North over 
     the Iran-Contra scandal and steered vast sums to health 
     clinics, job programs and veterans care. At home, he launched 
     a famous district caucus and Labor Day parade. After 30 
     years, he retired undefeated.
       A dozen or so landmarks have been named for him, including 
     a building at the National Institutes of Health.

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