III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 265 

Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Congressman Louis Stokes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 

Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of 

Congressman Louis Stokes. 

Whereas Louis Stokes was born on February 23, 1925, in 

Cleveland, Ohio, to Charles and Louise Cinthy Stokes; 

Whereas, in 1943, Louis Stokes graduated from Central 

High School in Cleveland, Ohio; 

Whereas, from 1943 to 1946, Louis Stokes served as a personnel specialist in the United States Army; 

Whereas, following these years of military service, Louis 

Stokes returned to Cleveland and attended the Cleveland 

College of Western Reserve University from 1946 to 

1948 and earned a Juris Doctor from the Cleveland Marshall School of Law in 1953; 


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Whereas Louis Stokes practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio for 14 

years and was one of the founders of the Stokes, Stokes, 

Character and Terry law firm; 

Whereas, during his time at his law firm, Louis Stokes became involved in a number of civil rights related cases, 

often working pro bono on behalf of poor clients and activists; 

Whereas Louis Stokes argued 3 cases before the Supreme 

Court of the United States, including the landmark case 

of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), which defined the 

legality of police search and seizure procedures; 

Whereas, on November 6, 1968, Louis Stokes was elected to 

the House of Representatives, representing the 21st 

(later the 11th) District of Ohio; 

Whereas, upon his election, Louis Stokes became the first African-American to represent Ohio in the House of Representatives; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes was a founding member of the 

Congressional Black Caucus, an organization comprised 

of the Black Members of the Congress and created to be 

the voice for people of color and vulnerable communities; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes served as the chairman of the 

Congressional Black Caucus for 2 terms; 

Whereas, in 1971, Congressman Stokes was the first AfricanAmerican to serve on the Committee on Appropriations 

of the House of Representatives and, by his retirement 

in 1998, had earned the distinguished rank of ‘‘Cardinal’’ 

as chairman of the Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes chaired a number of historic 

committees, including— 


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(1) the House Select Committee on the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 95th Congress; 

(2) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

in the 100th Congress; and 

(3) the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 

in the 97th and 98th Congresses; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes also served on the Committee 

on the Budget of the House of Representatives and 

gained national prominence as a member of the House 

Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran in 1987; 

Whereas, in 1998, Congressman Stokes successfully led the 

House of Representatives in passing H.R. 1635, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act, 

which was his final major piece of legislation; 

Whereas, after serving 15 consecutive terms in the House of 

Representatives, Congressman Stokes ranked 11th out of 

435 Members of Congress in seniority and was the dean 

of the Ohio delegation; 

Whereas few Members have left such an indelible mark in the 

House of Representatives; 

Whereas with kindness, integrity, and diligence, Congressman 

Stokes worked hard with both sides of the aisle to serve 

the constituents of his Congressional District, the city of 

Cleveland, the State of Ohio, and citizens of the United 

States; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes worked tirelessly for minorities, the poor, and disadvantaged persons; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes played a pivotal role in the 

quest for civil rights, equality, and justice; 


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Whereas the Christian faith of Congressman Stokes was the 

foundation of his service to others; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes often expressed gratitude for 

the sacrifices of his mother—a young widow, former 

sharecropper, and daughter of slaves—who inspired her 

sons to get an education so that her sons would not have 

to work with their hands as she had done as a domestic 

worker; 

Whereas Congressman Stokes received numerous awards and 

honors during his lifetime that recognize his leadership 

and his commitment to public service; 

Whereas there are several landmarks in the city of Cleveland 

that bear the name of Congressman Stokes, including the 

Louis Stokes Wing of the Cleveland Public Library, the 

Louis Stokes Health Sciences Center at Case Western 

Reserve University, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center; 

Whereas nationally, buildings named in honor of Congressman Stokes include the Louis Stokes Laboratories at the 

National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and 

the Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library at Howard 

University in Washington, DC; 

Whereas, given his commitment to education, the Louis 

Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) in 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

(STEM) at the National Science Foundation also bears 

the name of Congressman Stokes; 

Whereas LSAMP assists universities and colleges in increasing the number of students completing high quality degree programs in the STEM disciplines in order to diversify the STEM workforce; 


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Whereas Louis Stokes received 26 honorary doctorate degrees 

from colleges and universities; and 

Whereas, on July 8, 2003, Congressman Stokes was honored 

by the Congress with the Congressional Distinguished 

Service Award: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the life, accomplishments, and legacy 

3 of Congressman Louis Stokes; and 

4 (2) extends its heartfelt sympathies and condo5 lences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Con6 gressman Louis Stokes. 

Æ 


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