Carl Burton Stokes (June 21, 1927 – April 3, 1996) was an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and diplomat of the Democratic Party who served as the 51st

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was one of the first black elected mayors of a major U.S. city.

Early life

Stokes was born in Cleveland's Central

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

, the son of Louise (Stone) and Charles Stokes, a laundryman who died when Carl was around two or three years old. He and his brother, politician Louis Stokes, were raised by their mother at the CMHA's Outhwaite Homes. Stokes was a strong student, but in 1944, he dropped out of high school and took up work at Thompson Products (later TRW). At 18, he joined the U.S. Army and returned to Cleveland after his discharge in 1946. After earning his diploma at East Technical High School the following year, Stokes, who was inspired by civil rights activist

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

, decided to pursue a career in public service. After attending several colleges, he earned his bachelor's degree in 1954 from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. In 1956, he graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and in 1957, was admitted to the Ohio State Bar Association. While studying law, he served as a probation officer. He served as assistant

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

for four years, eventually becoming a partner in the law firm of Stokes, Stokes, continuing that practice into his political career; it was successful after one year.

Career

Stokes served in the Ohio House of Representatives. He narrowly lost a bid for mayor of

in 1965. His victory two years later drew national attention, as he was the first black mayor of one of the ten biggest cities in the United States."1967 Year In Review, UPI.com"
/ref> A charismatic political figure, Stokes had the ability to mobilize both black and white voters. With a 50.5% margin, he defeated Seth Taft, the grandson of former President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

in 1967. At the time of his election, Cleveland was a majority white city with a 37% black population. A crucial part of his support came from local businessmen. After his election, Stokes said, "I can find no more fitting way to end this appeal, by saying to all of you, in a more serious and in the most meaningful way that I can, that truly never before have I ever known to the extent that I know tonight, the full meaning of the words, 'God Bless America', thanks a lot." As mayor, Stokes "opened city hall jobs to blacks and women." He was known as a strong administrator and reformer, and is remembered for his vision and motivation. Stokes feuded with

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

and the

Police Department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

for much of his tenure. He also initiated Cleveland: Now!, a public and private funding program aimed at the revitalization of Cleveland neighborhoods. Despite fallout over the Glenville shootout, Stokes pulled through and was reelected in 1969. As mayor, he also played a pivotal role in the effort to restore Cleveland's

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River (see ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

in the aftermath of the river fire of June 1969 that brought national attention to the issue of industrial pollution in Cleveland. Stokes received the " NNPA Award," highest honor of the National Newspaper Publishers Association in 1971. After his mayoral administration, Stokes gave lectures to colleges around the country. In 1972, he became the first black anchorman in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

after securing a job with

WNBC-TV WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo s ...

. While at WNBC New York, Stokes won a New York State Regional Emmy for excellence in craft, for a piece about the opening of the Paul Robeson play, starring James Earl Jones on Broadway. In 1979, he briefly visited Cleveland to endorse Mayor

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich ( ; October 8, 1946) is an American politician. Originally a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Kucinich served as U.S. Representative from Ohio's Ohio's 10th congressional district, 10th congressional district fro ...

in the 1979 Cleveland mayoral election, warning that "if Voinovich wins, the Democrats might as well forget about the state of Ohio in 1980." After accusing NBC of failing to promote him to a national brief, he returned to Cleveland in 1980 and took up a stint with

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

, serving as general legal counsel. Stokes became a municipal judge in Cleveland in 1983. Subsequently, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles in 1994. Stokes received several civic awards, 12 honorary degrees, and served as a U.S. representative "on numerous goodwill trips abroad by request of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

." He was elected the first black president of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization provi ...

in 1970. Stokes was diagnosed with

cancer of the esophagus Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Ot ...

while serving as Ambassador to the Seychelles and placed on medical leave. He returned to Cleveland and died at the

Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Academic health science center, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an O ...

. His funeral was held at Cleveland Music Hall, presided over by the Rev. Otis Moss. The funeral was carried on

WERE ''Were'' and ''wer'' are archaism, archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures (, , , , , , ). In Anglo-Saxon law ''wer'' was the value of a man's life. He ...

radio. Stokes was buried at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Cleveland.Vigil, Vicki Blum (2007). ''Cemeteries of Northeast Ohio: Stones, Symbols & Stories''. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers.

Legacy

The US Federal Courthouse Tower in downtown Cleveland, completed in 2002, was named the Carl B. Stokes Federal Court House Building. There are many other buildings, monuments and a street named for his memory within the City of Cleveland including the CMHA Carl Stokes Center, Stokes Boulevard, and the eponymous Carl Stokes Brigade club. Members of the Brigade celebrate his birthday every year at Lakeview Cemetery with gravesite services. In November 2006, the Western Reserve Historical Society opened an exhibit entitled ''Carl and Louis Stokes: from Projects to Politics''. Focusing on the brothers' early life at the Outhwaite projects, service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and eventual rise to politics, the exhibit ran until September 2008. Perhaps Stokes' greatest legacy was his work to save and preserve Cleveland's Cuyahoga River. Of his efforts, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

wrote:

Notes

References

External links

The Western Reserve Historical Society's website about the lives of Carl and Louis Stokes

Carl Stokes's FBI files
hosted at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...