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Notable people · Congressman · Lawyer

Louis Stokes

Born in Cleveland, Stokes argued Terry v. Ohio before the Supreme Court in 1968 and was elected to Congress that year, becoming the first African American congressman from Ohio. He served 1969-1999, chaired the Select Committee on Assassinations, the Intelligence Committee and (twice) the Ethics Committee, and was the first Black member of Appropriations.

Louis Stokes
U.S. Congress, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
1925-02-23
Died
2015-08-18
Education
Central High School, Cleveland, OH
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, after 1946, attended
Cleveland State University College of Law (Cleveland-Marshall), Cleveland, OH, law degree
Known as
Congressman, Lawyer
Organizations
U.S. House of Representatives

Life story

Louis Stokes was born in Cleveland in 1925 and raised with his brother Carl by their mother in the Outhwaite Homes public housing project. He attended Central High School and served in the Army from 1943 to 1946.

Using the G.I. Bill, he studied at Case Western Reserve and Cleveland State's law college and began practicing law in 1953. In 1968 he argued Terry v. Ohio, the stop-and-frisk case, before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Voters elected him to Congress in 1968, from Ohio's 21st District on Cleveland's east side. He helped found the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971 and chaired the House Select Committee on Assassinations in the 1970s.

He later chaired the House Ethics Committee (1981-85) and the House Intelligence Committee (1987-89). He died in 2015, aged 90, and is buried at Lake View Cemetery.

Timeline

  • 1943: Army service begins (to 1946) (U.S.) source
  • 1953: Begins practicing law (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1968: Argues Terry v. Ohio before the Supreme Court (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1968: Elected to U.S. House, Ohio's 21st District (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1971: Helps found Congressional Black Caucus (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1981: Chairs House Ethics Committee (to 1985) (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1987: Chairs House Intelligence Committee (to 1989) (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 2015-08-18: Dies at home (Cleveland, OH) source

What Louis is known for

  • First Black congressman from Ohio
  • Chair, House Select Committee on Assassinations
  • Chair, House Ethics Committee (1981-85, 1991-93)
  • Argued Terry v. Ohio 1968

Honors and things named for them

  • Louis Stokes Station at Windermere
  • Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
  • NIH Building 50 (Louis Stokes Laboratories)
  • Howard University medical library
  • Cleveland Public Library expansion

Family

  • brother: Carl B. Stokes
  • mother: Louise Stone
  • wife: Jay Stokes
  • daughter: Lori Stokes

Places in Ohio to see

Ohio places

Where Louis Stokes was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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