In the rotunda in Cleveland’s City Hall, Mayor Justin Bibb, members of the Stokes family, other city officials and community leaders came together to announce the first-ever Carl Stokes Day on June 30 to honor the life and legacy of the 51st Mayor of Cleveland.
Stokes, a trailblazing politician for the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the nation, was the first Black Democrat elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1962 and the first Black mayor of Cleveland in 1967. He died in 1996.
The latter election ultimately had a profound impact on the nation, as he was one of the first Black mayors of a major city to be elected at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
"Most folks in this country look at places like Montgomery and Selma as the birthplace of Black political power and the birthplace of the civil rights movement,” Bibb said at the event, “but I think, starting today, the world is going to know that Cleveland is the birthplace of Black political power. Reflecting on all the great Black mayors who came after Mayor Stokes, from Harold Washington in Chicago to Tom Bradley in L.A., those mayors would not have been elected without the blueprint that started in Cleveland."
Bibb was joined by Richard Starr, council representative for Ward 5, who said that Stokes “inspires us as we work to build this city [so] each person can flourish and every voice resonates.”
Cleveland has a long-standing legacy with the Stokes family, as Carl’s brother, Louis Stokes, served for 30 years as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Cleveland’s east side.
Carl, a Golden Gloves boxer and Emmy-winning news anchor, also served as a Cleveland municipal judge from 1983 to 1994, making him one of the first Black people to serve in all three branches of government.
Cordell Stokes, Carl’s youngest child, spoke about who his father was, not just a politician, but as a parent. Cordell was joined by his daughter and grandchildren.
Cordell recounted how his dad taught him life lessons and would spend time with him at a sports camp. “Every Father's Day, they would invite the dads to come up and stay with you, and he did that every year. He would come up, stay with me, sleep on the bunk,” he recalled.
With the creation of the first-ever Carl B. Stokes Day, Cleveland will have another opportunity to showcase Carl’s legacy every year.
Many buildings and monuments in the city are named after the brothers; there’s the Louis Stokes wing of the Cleveland Public Library, the Carl B. Stokes Federal Court House Building, and Stokes Boulevard.
"We're going to be an example in this city of always uplifting our history and always uplifting Black leaders and our community,” says Bibb.
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