Congressional Black Caucus remembers Louis B. Strokes

“Mr. Stokes was first elected to Congress in 1969 and served 30 years in the U.S. House of Representatives”.

Stokes suffered from lung and brain Cancer and was treated at Cleveland Clinic numerous times but he finally lost the battle at age 90.

As an alumni of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Louis Stokes’ family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a scholarship fund in his name.

For those who didn’t know about Stokes, here is a reason why he was an important figure in American politics. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the first black congressman elected in the state of Ohio. “During his illness, he confronted it as he did life – with bravery and strength”, his family said in a statement. “I’m going to keep on denouncing the inequities of this system, but I’m going to work within it”, Stokes said, according to the House website.

He was one of the Cold War-era chairmen of the House Intelligence Committee, led the Congressional Black Caucus and was the first black on the House Appropriations Committee – a powerful panel that decides how much each authorized federal project actually gets to spend. That’s what’s wrong in the society.

Stationed in Mississippi, he and other blacks were sentenced to the guard house for refusing to pick up papers around the white soldiers’ barracks, and once confined, found the guard house had separate toilets for white and black soldiers. His brother Carl, then the history-making mayor of Cleveland, pushed him to enter the race.

“Lou leaves behind an indelible legacy in the countless generations of young leaders that he inspired, and he will be sorely missed”, Obama said.

“Lou Stokes continued to stand up for northeast Ohioans ‎long after he left Congress.‎ He’ll be remembered in the communities he strengthened, the veterans he served, and the many lives he touched”.