Angela Stokes is the daughter of Louis Stokes and a graduate of the University of Maryland and Howard University Law School. She was Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio, and a Cleveland Municipal Court Judge for twenty years.
Lori Stokes is the youngest child of Louis Stokes. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Howard University. She has worked in television journalism since 1986, reporting for stations in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland. She also worked at MSNBC and is currently a morning television anchor in New York City.
Louis "Chuck" Stokes is the only sone of Louis Stokes. He began his career as a sports writer for the Washington Post. For over 30 years he has been the editorial/public affairs moderator for news and public affairs show "Spotlight on the News" for WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan.
Shelley Stokes-Hammond is the oldest daughter of Louis Stokes. She is a graduate of Ohio University and Goucher College. She is a historic preservationist, author, and public relations manager at Howard University.
Carl Stokes, and his brother Louis, were groundbreaking African-American politicians from Cleveland, Ohio. Carl Stokes became the first black mayor of a major U.S. city when elected in 1967. Louis Stokes was the first African-American congressman from Ohio when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, a position he held for 15 consecutive terms. During Carl Stokes two mayoral terms, city hall jobs were opened to blacks and women, and a number of urban renewal projects were initiated. Between 1983 and 1994 Carl Stokes served as municipal judge, and in 1994 was appointed by President Clinton as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Seychelles. Louis Stokes began his career as a civil rights attorney, and helped challenge the Ohio redistricting in 1965 that fragmented African-American voting strength. In 1967, Louis Stokes argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Terry v. Ohio case, also known as the "stop-and-frisk" case. In the 1970s, Louis Stokes served as chair on Assassinations and in the 1980s was a noted member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. The collection includes 34 interviews with family and friends, associates and staff, and was conducted to commemorate the 50th anniversaries of Carl Stokes election as mayor and Louis Stokes to Congress.
Benjamin S. Stefanski II was born in Garfield Heights and graduated from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Michigan. He served as Utilities Director for Carl Stokes and worked to combat pollution in Lake Erie, as well as developing the Cleveland regional sewer system.
The Rev. Dr. Joan Campbell was born in Youngstown and is an ordained pastor, who has committed her life to service and activism working with important leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. She worked to organize voters for Carl Stokes' mayoral campaign.She is also the mother of Jane Campbell, the first female mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
The Rev. Emmitt Theophilus Caviness is a native of Marshall, Texas. He is the pastor of Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church and the president of the Cleveland chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Rev. Caviness served as a commissioner in the Carl Stokes mayoral administration.
Dee Perry spent 40 years as a Cleveland radio broadcaster. She hosted programs on Cleveland's public radio station, WCPN, where she was a leader in promoting the Arts. She has conducted more than 10,000 interviews and was the lead interviewer for the Stokes Oral History Project.
Michael White is from the Glenville neighborhood, of Cleveland, Ohio. While studying at The Ohio State University, he was studen union president. White was campaign manager for Louis Stokes' Congressional Campaign, and also served on the Cleveland City Council between 1978 and 1984. White was mayor of Cleveland from 1990 to 2002.
Norman Krumholz was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He served as the City of Cleveland's planning director under Mayors Carl Stokes, Ralph Perk, and Dennis Kucinich. He also led the Cleveland Center for Neighborhood Development from 1979 to 1984 and served on the Cleveland City Planning Commission between 2006 and 2014.
Betty Pinkney and her husband, Arnold, were long time advocates for Carl and Louis Stokes. Arnold helped with Louis Stoke's election to Congress and was a major strategist for the Democratic party. Arnold Pinkney, an insurance executive, also ran Jesse Jackson's national campaign for president in 1984.
Robert Madison was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1923. He was a decorated soldier during World War II and graduated from Western Reserve University and Harvard. Mr. Madison was the first African American to become a registered architect in the state of Ohio. He opened his firm in Cleveland in 1954 and has worked on major projects locally and worldwide. He served on Carl Stokes initial mayoral election campaign as a speech writer.
Walter Beach III was born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1933. Before attending college, Beach served in the U.S. Air force, spending three years in Germany as a cryptographer. He graduated from Central Michigan University and played defensive back in both the Canadian and National Football Leagues, including with the the Cleveland Browns during the team's 1964 Championship season. He served as the director for Countil for Youth Opportunities during Carl Stokes' mayoral administration. He is a lawyer and author.
Albert G. Ratner is a native Clevelander. He is an avid philanthropist and the co-chairman of Forest City Realty Trust, a nationwide real estate development firm. For twenty years he was the CEO of his family owned business, Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Mr. Ratner discusses his upbringing, particularly growing up in various East Side suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1930s and '40s and his experiences with racial integration and conflict that occurred following WWII. Mr. Ratner also talks about Lou Stokes and his legacy.
Rev. Samuel Tidmore, IV, was an aide to Louis Stokes during his early years in Congress. Rev. Tidmore was born in Decatur, Illinois, in 1938, but moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as a child. He graduated from John Adams High School and attended the Ohio State University. He is a former NFL linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns in 1962 and 1963. He later became a business consultant and an owner of fast food franchises. During the late 1970s, he served as chapter vice president of the Cleveland chapter of Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity), a project begun by Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Sister Alicia Alvarado and Jose Feliciano are both active in the Hispanic community. Sister Alvarado was born in Puerto Rico, immigrating to the United States when she was 6 years old. She received degrees from Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, and Kent State. And she entered the the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron in 1979. Sister Alvarado was only junior in High School when she worked in a storefront campaign office to help Carl Stokes run for mayor.
Mr. Feliciano made history by becoming Cleveland's first Hispanic chief prosecuting attorney. He was also born in Puerto Rico and moved to Cleveland in 1952, to grow up on the near West side of Cleveland, in what is now known as Ohio City. Mr. Feliciano has been involved with the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Commission on Economic Inclusion.