Abner C. Brownell held office from 1852 through 1854. After being discharged in 1946, he returned to Cleveland and earned a high school diploma, and then attended West Virginia State College and Cleveland College of Western Reserve University, majoring in psychology. Conflict with city council and the voters' failure to approve a needed increase in the city income tax persuaded him not to seek a third term in 1971. He was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus while serving as Ambassador to the Seychelles and placed on medical leave. His victory two years later drew national attention. More than two decades after the event, called the Glenville riots, Mr. Stokes's eyes would fill with tears as he described the "damn helplessness" he felt during the time. Senter's home on Euclid Avenue became the first home of the Union Club. In 1967, he lost in the Democratic primary to Carl B. Stokes, the first black mayor of a major American city. Two months before the end of World War II, Stokes joined the US Army and got the chance to travel. Stokes unseated incumbent mayor Ralph S. Locher in the Democratic Party primary. I felt baffled, without direction, and had no ambition beyond the work I was doing and the life I had developed on the streets.. Davis was re-elected twice, but resigned in his third term to run for governor. Holly led boycotts against White-owned businesses and battled unions who refused to hire Black employees. He is of the few American politicians whose career spanned all three branches of government serving as mayor, Ohio legislator, and municipal court judge. Prior to holding elected office, he was a thriving fur trader and served as treasurer of the Cleveland & Newburgh Railway. Cleveland, It's unclear when Chapin took office as the previous mayor, George Senter, is credited with having declared a day of mourning following Lincoln's assassination. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. In 1965, he narrowly missed upsetting the incumbent, Ralph S. Locher, in the Cleveland mayoral race. But I did not know how to cope with race prejudice. In 1967, Stokes made American history. He cut taxes and reduced debt during his time in office. . George B. Senter was Cleveland's mayor from 1859 to 1860. The city of Cleveland's count of 57 mayors differs from the 50 reported here, because the city counts more than once each of the mayors who served non-consecutive terms. His decision to remove White officers from patrol was regarded as a success by the press and a controversy within the department. The Italian-born Anthony Celebrezze served four two-year terms from 1954 to 1961. Born to laundry worker Charles Stokes, who died in Carl's infancy, and domestic laborer Louise Stone Stokes, Stokes grew up in poverty in Cleveland's predominantly African . There Charles Stokes was a sharecropper and part-time preacher, while Louise was a cook on a plantation. Brenton D. Babcock was an entrepreneur and a prominent Mason. He lost his father when he was very young. He worked for the Erie Railroad Co. in Buffalo as a clerk and then as a bookkeeper for a coal dealership in Cleveland. Civil Rights Movement marker to be unveiled at Glenville High School He served two years as mayor starting in 1838 and was subsequently defeated twice before getting elected again as mayor in 1842. Long appreciated as a civil rights leader, Carl Stokes has only recently been recognized for his pioneering role in the environmental movement. During his administration the Equal Employment Opportunity Ordinance was passed requiring firms doing business with the city to have active programs to increase their minority employment, spending was increased for schools, welfare, and public safety, and a $100 million bond issue was approved by voters to improve the city's sewage treatment facilities. He enrolled in West Virginia State College, and first pursued a double major in psychology and sociology. View finding aid for the Carl B. Stokes Papers, Series I, WRHS. Cleveland's current Mayor Justin Bibb honored the city's 51st mayor and the first African-American mayor of a major U.S. city Carl B. Stokes, during a special ceremony Wednesday outside city hall. Mr. Stokes, who was the United States Ambassador to the Seychelles but had taken a medical leave of absence last year after being told he had cancer of the esophagus, died shortly after 5 A.M. at Cleveland Clinic, according to a spokeswoman for the hospital. In 1956, he graduated from the Cleveland State University College of Law and in 1957, was admitted to the Ohio State Bar Association. During his two years in office, Morgan made all staff positions at the city hospital available to blacks. He also supported a bond issue to create public works jobs during the Depression, but the money raised was not enough to adequately reduce unemployment. He was a municipal judge in Cleveland from 1983 to 1994. [1][5] At the time of his election, Cleveland was a majority white city with a 37% black population. of course Martin Luther King, and . Carl & Louis Stokes Making History opened at the Cleveland History Center on November 2, 2017, and was the capstone of the 2017 Commemoration Stokes: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future He served from 1879 through the end of 1882. After dropping out of high school and going to work in a foundry, Carl Stokes entered the Army in 1944, and served in occupied Germany in World War II. "[10] After accusing NBC of failing to promote him to a national brief, he returned to Cleveland in 1980 and took up a stint with United Auto Workers, serving as general legal counsel. As mayor, he persuaded the Department of Housing & Urban Development to release urban-renewal funds frozen during the Locher administration and prevailed on city council the increase the city income tax from .5% to 1%. 21 June 192 7 in Cleveland, Ohio; d. 3 April 1996 in Cleveland, Ohio), first African American mayor of a major U.S. city, Cleveland, Ohio. He remembers attending a sports camp in the 1970s. After a tough campaign, Stokes emerged victorious. At that time, racial discrimination in Cleveland was an issue of serious concern in America. After that, he shifted to New York City and the next year, he served the television station WNBC as an anchorman. He was reelected to a second term in 1969. He was elected municipal court judge in 1983 and in 1994 was appointed U.S. ambassador to the Seychelles. Stokes was a busy student who was active in sports and clubs. How the 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire Sparked the U.S. Environmental Movement All 50 mayors in Cleveland history -- and their claim to fame 44106, 10900 Euclid Ave. Cordell describes two key life lessons that Carl and Louis Stokes impressed upon him. From 1994 to 1995 Stokes served as U.S. ambassador to Seychelles. That provides a foundation for creating a diverse business environment, hiring environment, etc. He came to Cleveland to work as a cooper at the age of 17 and later learned how to distill alcohol. A year later, Stokes married Shirley Edwards. city. When Stokes was informed of the assassination, he acted quickly to keep the peace in Cleveland. When Stokes was first elected Cleveland's Mayor in 1967 (he took office in 1968), he was the first African-American to lead a major American city. He took me down to Jamaica with friends of his who were also tennis players. . . (Fellow Ohioan Robert C. Henry was the first black mayor of any U.S. city (Springfield, elected 1966).) [1], Stokes served in the Ohio House of Representatives. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. After two two-year terms as mayor, Mr. Stokes, who had dashing good looks and a touch of charisma, moved to New York and took a job with the television station WNBC in 1972, where he became the city's first black anchorman. They had three children - Carl Jr., Cordi and Cordell. Carl Burton Stokes (June 21, 1927 April 3, 1996) was an American politician and diplomat of the Democratic Party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Masters defeated incumbent Cleveland Mayor Edward S. Flint in 1863 but resigned the following year due to poor health. Carl B. Stokes served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. the local John O. Holly. Promises of Power (1973). At 18, he joined the U.S. Army and returned to Cleveland after his discharge in 1946. He pushed for the creation of the Cleveland House of Correction & Workhouse. Carl Stokes Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline You had to figure out what you were going to do to make your mark. During that time he was involved in the creation of the Cleveland Electric Railway Co. Nathan P. Payne, a Democrat, was in the coal business prior to running for mayor. Do you Want MLK and His Disciples Running Your City? The growth of Clevelands Black voting bloc to 39% bolstered his prospects. STOKES, CARL B. STOKES, CARL B. He credits his brother Carl Stokes - the first black mayor of a major American city . Born as Carl Burton Stokes in a black family of Cleveland, Carl was the second son of Charles, a laundryman and Louise Stokes, a cleaning woman. He passed away back home in Cleveland, the place he cared for the most. Cordell shared his thoughts on Carls political legacy. The Birth Home of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta is a national historical park. Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was one of the first black elected mayors of a major U.S. Robert E. Blee worked for the railroad and oversaw in-state troop transportation during the Civil War. In the photo above, Kucinich is flanked by his then-wife Sandy, left, and his father, Frank Kucinich, after claimingvictory in the 1978 recall election. He had to get me off the court because I was laughing. Cordell remembered his father as someone who perfected the balance of his career with a disciplined family life. During Carls childhood, the Cuyahoga Riverdivided the city along racial lines. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Celebrezze's popularity grew during office and he received nearly 74 percent of the vote in 1961. He served from 1844 to 1845 and then a two-year term starting in 1857. Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was the first black elected mayor of a major U.S. city. . For three years, he worked as an agent for Ohios State Department of Liquor Control. He served from 1932 through 1933. He was elected the first black president of the National League of Cities in 1970. Carl B. Stokes was the first African American elected mayor of a major US city, serving in Cleveland from 1968 to 1971. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Dennis Kucinich, known as "the boy mayor," took office at age 31 but served only asingle two-year term beginning in 1978. Carl Stokes biography timelines // 21st Jun 1927 Born as Carl Burton Stokes in a black family of Cleveland, Carl was the second son of Charles, a laundryman and Louise Stokes, a cleaning woman. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. For generations, the Stokes lived in Georgia. His father, Charles . We had a cousin who lived up there and he had a cabin. According to Cordell, Carl was always doing something in his spare time. He married Raija Kostadinov, a former Finnish model in 1981. It focuses on how poor environmental conditions affect low-income and minority communities more than others. Updated: 6:32 PM EST February 3, 2022 CLEVELAND Carl Burton Stokes, Cleveland's first Black mayor was also the nation's first Black mayor of a major city. Masters, who resigned after contracting tuberculosis. He later acquired the Cleveland Herald & Gazette, in which he would not allow "print ads for the more notorious quack medicines, or notices for the return of runaway slaves," according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Stokes ran for mayor again in 1967. Civil Rights was the big movement. In 1954, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in law from the University of Minnesota Law School. Mayor of Cleveland - Wikipedia Paying Tribute to Trailblazers: Carl B. Stokes Downtown Cleveland For many years he served as superintendent of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad. How Carl Stokes election shaped Cleveland political history - WKYC He advocated for clean water and environmental justice, bringing international attention to the infamous 1969 Cuyahoga River fire. Stokes left Cleveland to become a broadcaster at WNBC-TV in New York. When he became mayor of Cleveland for the first time in 1877, the economy was depressed as a result of the Panic of 1873. Stokes attempted to reform the department, believing they were unresponsive to the people's needs, but was unsuccessful. He also initiated Cleveland: Now!, a public and private funding program aimed at the revitalization of Cleveland neighborhoods. After his first term as mayor, then-President Grover Cleveland appointed Farley as director of internal revenue. . Choosing not to run for a third term in 1971, Stokes lectured around the country, then in 1972 became the first black anchorman in New York City when he took a job with television station WNBC. Josiah Harris was a boy when his family moved to Lorain County from Massachusetts. He also learned carpentry and later became president of Dover Bay Grape & Wine Co. Equality. In the same year, he was elected as the first black Democrat to the Ohio House of Representatives and won office in Cuyahoga County.