John Conyers: “Mr. Chairman, I may have the distinction of knowing Lou Stokes longer than any other Member of the Congress, one that I…”

“Mr. Chairman, I may have the distinction of knowing Lou Stokes longer than any other Member of the Congress, one that I am proud of. I am closely connected to his family, and he mine. Detroit and Cleveland have always had a great interrelationship. So, I have had the privilege of knowing the family. Jay and his late brother Carl, and his two daughters, a judge and a TV anchor. He is now a grandfather, of course. And then, of course, his son, Chuck Stokes and Trudy are telecommunications and media people in Detroit. One of my worst recurring nightmares is that his son might choose to run for Congress in Detroit instead of Cleveland, where he ought to have run. I should not say that I have stopped having them, because he still there and I am still there. Lou, this is a moment of joy and sadness for all of us. I remember the first day Lou got to the House and he made me feel real good. Not because I campaigned for him, which was not necessary at all, but because he told me the first bill he introduced was the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill. Then he said, "Do you think it has a chance of really passing?" And 15 years later we found out that it did. Lou, I thank you for your steadfastness across the years. It has been a very pleasant friendship.”