An Ohio Political Icon Dies

“Today, as I mourn the passing of my good friend and mentor, Congressman Louis Stokes, I celebrate the legacy of one of the most iconic public servants whose 30 years of service transformed the halls of Congress. He was dedicated to expanding political and economic opportunities for all Americans, and he was determined to transcend the culture of discrimination and injustice”.

Stokes served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946.

The father of local newsman Chuck Stokes is noted for addressing assassinations and a number of scandals during his time as a lawyer and congressman.

“What we have done now is to come out with certain conclusions that sort of vindicated what the American people have suspected all along _ and that was, in both cases, there was a conspiracy”, Stokes said in 1979.

Stokes represented a swath of Cleveland, a predominantly black district that he helped create by mounting a legal challenge to the race-based gerrymandering that had previously made it hard, if not impossible, for a black candidate to win election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

That post gave him a platform for protecting major Cleveland employers, such as NASA Lewis Research Center, and for directing federal dollars toward hometown projects.

As a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Lou Stokes engineered a vehicle that would foster collaboration and strategic alliances for generations.

He spoke often of his admiration for his younger brother, who served two terms as Cleveland mayor and was later a broadcaster and judge. Stokes lost some of his zest for politics after his brother died of cancer in 1996. Their mother, Louise, had an eighth-grade education and emphasized schooling, telling her sons to “get something in your head so you don’t have to work with your hands”.

Stokes leveled his complaint through official channels and did not complain publicly about the demeaning delay at his own office building.

Stokes’ tenure in the House of Representatives included service on the House Appropriations Committee, where he was influential in bringing revenue to Cleveland.