Gregory Meeks: “Mr. Chairman, I rise to say thank you to a man who is a living legend, a man who is a gentleman, a man who is a hero…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise to say thank you to a man who is a living legend, a man who is a gentleman, a man who is a hero, not only an African-American hero, but a true American hero. For surely I do not believe that I would be standing here today in this august body as a Member of the United States House of Representatives if it was not for the trailblazing work of Carl and Louis Stokes. I remember, while in high school, maybe it was junior high school, when Carl and Louis Stokes began to run for office in the City of Cleveland. As a young boy, I would scratch my head and say, why can we not do that in New York? That was the beginning of me having an opportunity to admire, look up to, having an idol, and having a hero and a role model in Louis Stokes. I can recall attending the great Howard University School of Law; and while in evidence class, my professor was talking about the landmark case of Terry versus Ohio, and said, did you know that there is a man that works over in the Capitol that was one of the attorneys on this landmark case? That was Louis Stokes. I can recall attending my first Congressional Black Caucus weekend and sitting in the seat and watching Mr. Stokes move about and being in awe. Little did I know that, at that time, that I would be having the pleasure and the opportunity of saying that I served, though ever so briefly, with Louis Stokes.”