Louis Stokes
Encyclopedia
Louis Stokes is a Democratic politician from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He served in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.

Born in Cleveland, Stokes and his brother Carl B. Stokes
Carl B. Stokes
Carl Burton Stokes was an American politician of the Democratic party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected on November 7, 1967, but took office on Jan 1, 1968, he was the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city. Fellow Ohioan Robert C. Henry was the first African...

 lived in one of the first federally funded housing projects, the Outhwaite Homes
Outhwaite Homes
Outhwaite Homes is a public housing development under jurisdiction of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in Cleveland, Ohio. Built in 1935 and possibly named after Joseph H. Outhwaite, it was the first federally funded public housing in the Cleveland area and one of the first in the U.S....

.Louis attended Central High School. Stokes served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. After attending Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...

 and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
The Cleveland–Marshall College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school traces its origins to the founding of Cleveland Law School in 1897 which, in 1946, merged with the John Marshall School of Law, founded in 1916, to become Cleveland–Marshall...

, Stokes began practicing law in Cleveland in 1953. Stokes argued the seminal "stop and frisk" case of Terry v. Ohio before the United States Supreme Court in 1968. Later in 1968, he was elected to the House, representing the 21st District of Ohio on Cleveland's East Side. He shifted to the newly created 11th District, covering much of the same area following a 1992 redistricting. Stokes served 15 terms in total, retiring in 1999.

Stokes' tenure in the House of Representatives included service on the House Appropriations Committee, where he was influential in bringing revenue to Cleveland. He was particularly interested in veterans' issues and secured funds for health-care facilities for veterans in Cleveland. In the 1970s, Stokes served as Chairman of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, charged with investigating the murders of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...

. Stokes also served on the House committee that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...

.

Stokes' brother, Carl B. Stokes
Carl B. Stokes
Carl Burton Stokes was an American politician of the Democratic party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected on November 7, 1967, but took office on Jan 1, 1968, he was the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city. Fellow Ohioan Robert C. Henry was the first African...

, was the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 mayor of a large American city. His daughter, Angela Stokes, serves as a Cleveland Municipal Court judge while another, Lori Stokes
Lori Stokes
Lori Stokes is co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning and Eyewitness News at Noon alongside Ken Rosato on WABC-TV in New York City...

, is a journalist with WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...

 New York. His son, Chuck Stokes, is also a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 with WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...

 in Detroit. Funk and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 musician Rick James
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...

 was a cousin. Stokes and his wife, Jay, have seven grandchildren. Stokes practices law in Cleveland, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 Many buildings throughout the country have been named in Stokes honor including: Howard University's medical library, the Cleveland Public Library's main building expansion, GCRTA's Windermere station Louis Stokes Station at Windermere
Louis Stokes Station at Windermere
Louis Stokes Station at Windermere is a rapid transit station on the RTA Red Line in East Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It is located on the northwest side of Euclid Avenue between Bryn Mawr and Doan Roads...

, and the greater Cleveland area Veteran's hospital was renamed the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

In 2006, the Western Reserve Historical Society
Western Reserve Historical Society
The Western Reserve Historical Society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cultural institution in Northeast Ohio. WRHS is located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.-About:...

 opened an exhibition on the lives of Congressman Stokes and his brother titled "Carl and Louis Stokes: From the Projects to Politics". The exhibit opened in November 2006 and will close in September 2008. The exhibit uses photographs, manuscript collections, and personal items to showcase Louis Stokes' rise from the Outhwaite homes, his legal career, and his Congressional service.

The former Congressman was recently inducted into the Karamu House Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to the continued legacy of Cleveland's black settlement house and theatre. Stokes is also a member of the Cleveland Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...

 fraternity.

Stokes is now a partner in the law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey is an international legal practice with 36 offices in 17 countries. Squire, Sanders & Dempsey International Association does not itself provide, directly or indirectly, any legal or other client services...

, with offices in Cleveland and Washington.

Louis Stokes Museum

The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), located in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, opened the Louis Stokes Museum on September 13, 2007. This Museum houses Stokes memorabilia, video interviews, misc. video footage, awards and a written history about Stokes and his rise to prominence. The museum is located at Outhwaite Homes
Outhwaite Homes
Outhwaite Homes is a public housing development under jurisdiction of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority in Cleveland, Ohio. Built in 1935 and possibly named after Joseph H. Outhwaite, it was the first federally funded public housing in the Cleveland area and one of the first in the U.S....

, 4302 Quincy Avenue. Hours are from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Private viewings can be scheduled by calling 216-432-3840.

See also


External links

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