On November 6, 1968, Louis Stokes was elected to
the U.S. Congress on his first try for public office, becoming the first
African-American member of Congress from the state of Ohio.
Each year since 1971, Congressman Stokes has
been named by Ebony magazine as one of the 100 most influential Black
Americans. In 1979, he was nominated by Ebony magazine in three categories
for the Second Annual American Black Achievement Awards. His nomination
was based upon his role as the first African American to head a major
congressional investigation and to preside over nationally televised
hearings, which revealed new facts about the assassinations of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. and U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
In his second term of office, the congressional representative
was appointed as the first African American to sit on the powerful Appropriations
Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, Congressman Stokes
has served as a member of the Budget, Education and Labor, and House Un-American
Activities Committees (now the House Internal Security Committee).
"Learn everything
you can learn.
Above all, believe in yourself."
A graduate of Western Reserve University and Cleveland State
University’s law school, Congressman Stokes practiced law for 14 years in Cleveland,
Ohio, prior to his election.
Congressman Stokes can be proud of his family’s achievements
in addition to his own. His brother, Municipal Court Judge Carl B. Stokes, made
history in Cleveland in 1967 by becoming the first African-American mayor of
a major American city. Their mother, Louise Stokes, was named Cleveland’s Woman
of the Year in 1968 and Ohio’s Mother of the Year in 1969.
In 1980, Congressman Stokes was awarded the William L. Dawson
Award by his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus. This coveted and
prestigious award was presented to him in recognition of his “unique leadership
in the development of legislation.”
The Cleveland native asks today’s youth to get back to the
basics with this advice: “Stay in school. Learn everything you can learn. Be
considerate of others. Be concerned about those who are around you and who are
less fortunate than you. Reach back and help those less fortunate than you.
Above all, believe in yourself.”
