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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The s ...

. 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 (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

, the son of Louise (Stone) and Charles Stokes, a laundryman who died when Carl was two. He and his brother, politician

Louis Stokes Louis Stokes (February 23, 1925 – August 18, 2015) was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the firs ...

, 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 The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

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, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

, 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, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. 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 common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal ...

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) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

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, rural counc ...

and the Police Department 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 ( , or ) 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 ...

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 or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after securing a job with

WNBC-TV WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving 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 station ...

. 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 James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. In 1979, he briefly visited Cleveland to endorse Mayor Dennis Kucinich 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 International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

, 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 who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the

Republic of Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

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. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...

." He was elected the first black president of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States 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 leading membership ...

in 1970. Stokes was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus while serving as Ambassador to the Seychelles and placed on medical leave. He returned to Cleveland and died at the Cleveland Clinic. His funeral was held at Cleveland Music Hall, presided over by the Rev. Otis Moss. The funeral was carried on WERE radio. Stokes was buried at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gi ...

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, 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 agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational proper ...

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 digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...