Dennis Kucinich: “Carl Stokes grew up in the depths of the Great Depression and scaled the heights of public service. He was a visionary…”

“Carl Stokes grew up in the depths of the Great Depression and scaled the heights of public service. He was a visionary and a great leader who inspired those who worked around him. The world will remember him as the first African-American mayor of a major American city. I will always remember him as a special friend, as a confidant, and as a mentor who helped me navigate the rough waters of Cleveland politics and the even rougher circumstances of being mayor of Cleveland, an office which Carl and I have both held. Carl B. Stokes was the son of a laundry worker who died when he was 2 years old. His mother worked as a domestic. He and his brother, the honorable gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Stokes], worked in neighborhood stores and delivered newspapers to help out their family. Over the years, Carl Stokes excelled in many aspects of life: as a soldier during World War II, as a middle-weight boxing champion in 1948, as someone who could shoot a pretty good game of pool I might add, as an attorney and investigator for the Ohio Department of Liquor Control.”