Congressman Louis Stokes, older brother of late Mayor Carl Stokes, has died

Congressman Louis Stokes

Story by Northeast Ohio Media Group
Written by Brent Larkin

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Louis Stokes, whose iconic career in public life assures him a place as one of the most revered, respected and powerful figures in Cleveland history, died Tuesday night.

He was 90.

The older brother of former Mayor Carl B. Stokes had an aggressive form of cancer, diagnosed in late June.

A proud, personable and gracious man whose dress and manner exuded dignity, Stokes never wanted to be a politician, aspiring instead to become Cleveland's leading black lawyer.

But the reluctant officeholder who came to Congress in 1969 left it 30 years later as a towering political figure both in Washington and at home.
Mayor Frank Jackson was one of dozens to publicly mourn the death of his longtime friend.

"Congressman Louis Stokes' long career in public life was a model of how to serve with dignity, integrity and honor," Jackson said. "His service paved the way for many who would follow in both public and private careers. I know full well that, but for him, I would have never had the opportunity to become mayor."

For more than three decades, Stokes, his brother, former Council President George Forbes, and former Cleveland School Board President Arnold Pinkney dominated every aspect of black political life in the city.

Now, only Forbes survives.

"The four of us had parallel careers in public life," Forbes said. "It was not unusual for some of the things we did or said to be questioned. But not Lou Stokes. If he said it, or did it, it was like a pronouncement from Sinai. It was the gospel. It was the last word. No one disagreed with him."

Stokes' resume in the House included stints as chairman of the select committee that from 1976 to 1978 investigated the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., chairman of the House Ethics Committee, a member of the House select committee that investigated the Iran-Contra affair, and the first black to chair the Intelligence Committee and serve on the influential House Appropriations Committee.

In Cleveland, Stokes' political muscle was the 21st Congressional District Caucus, a political organization founded by his late brother that became so powerful, its ability to influence election outcomes sometimes surpassed that of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party.

When Stokes and the caucus urged Democrats in his district to vote against a sitting Democratic president in the Ohio presidential primary in 1980, they did just that, supporting Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy over President Jimmy Carter by a margin of nearly 2-1.

Stokes never lost an election. Nor did he forget where he came from.

And he never strayed from his commitment to expand political and economic opportunities for minorities.

In an interview at his home just a month before his death and days after he learned of his terminal illness, Stokes emotionally reminisced on his storybook life.

"I was a very blessed guy," he began. "I've been blessed with the opportunity to participate in history, to rise to opportunities I never envisioned ... and to provide for people opportunities that, in many cases, they would have never had.

"We have been blessed as a family with a legacy we can always be proud of. Together with Carl, we made a name that stood for something.
"What greater honor could have come to two brothers who grew up in poverty here in Cleveland?"