Date: 2015-09-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. it is with a heavy heart that I rise to speak in praise of Louis Stokes. one of the greatest and most respected Members ever to serve in this body. who died on Tuesday. August 18. 2015. at his home near Cleveland. Ohio at the age of 90. It is not unusual in these days for commentators and politicians to talk of something called "American Exceptionalism." But what is meant by the term? Mr. Speaker. one way to understand the term: America is exceptional because it produces and finds persons like Louis Stokes and affords them the opportunity to utilize their talents to the fullest in the service of their community and their country. Think about it: in what other nation does a little African American boy born in 1925 on the east side of Cleveland and raised in the Outhwaite Homes housing project by a mother who worked as a domestic go on to become a lawyer who argues and wins a landmark criminal justice reform case (Terry v. Ohio. 392 U.S. 1 (1968)) in the United States Supreme Court. become the first African American elected to Congress. is selected to chair the powerful Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. the Select Committee on Assassinations. and an Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for more than $90 billion annually in federal outlays? Yes. America is an exceptional nation and Louis Stokes was an exceptional human being. Mr. Speaker. Louis Stokes was born on February 23. 1925. in Cleveland. Ohio. to Charles and Louise Cinthy (nee Stone) Stokes. When he was three years old. his father. who worked in a laundromat. died leaving young Louis and his younger brother. Carl. to be raised by their mother. who worked as a domestic for affluent families in the wealthy Cleveland suburbs. Louis Stokes maternal grandmother played a critical role in his life because she took care of the Stokes boys while their mother was at work and instilled in them "the idea that work with your hands is the hard way of doing things" and encouraged them over and over "to learn to use their heads." Louis Stokes took the advice to heart so after attending Clevelands Central High School and serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. he returned home to attend what is now Case Western Reserve University on the G.I. Bill at night while working during the day for the Veterans Administration and the Department of the Treasury. After graduating from college in two years where he excelled as a student. Louis Stokes was accepted for admission to Cleveland Marshall School of Law. from which he graduated in 1953. three years later. his brother Carl would also graduate from Cleveland Marshall School of Law and the two of them would go on to form the law firm of Stokes & Stokes specializing in the areas of civil rights and criminal law. In 1964. the Supreme Court decided the landmark case of Reynolds v. Sims. 377 U.S. 533 (1964). which established the principle of "one person. one vote" governing the reapportionment of legislative boundaries. The following year. working on behalf of the local branch of the NAACP. Louis Stokes led the legal challenge to the Ohio legislatures congressional redistricting. which had the effect of diluting African American voting strength in Cleveland. The challenge was unsuccessful in the federal district court but undeterred. Louis Stokes. joined by Charles Lucas. an African American Republican. successfully appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. which in an order handed down in 1967 ruled the redistricting plan unconstitutional and ordered it redrawn. resulting in the creation of Ohios first majorityblack district. the 21st Congressional District of Ohio. Ironically. Louis Stokes would defeat his onetime ally Charles Lucas to win that seat in November 1968. capturing 75% of the vote. the closest of his 15 successful elections to the U.S. House of Representatives. For the next 30 years. from 1969 to 1999. Congressman Stokes tirelessly fought for his constituents in Cleveland and for the best interests of the people of Ohio and the United States. Louis Stokes. a founding member and Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 197274. was the epitome of a public servant. In his second term in Congress. he won appointment to the powerful House Appropriations Committee. where he served for 28 years. later becoming the second African American "Cardinal" in history when he was selected to chair the VA. HUD. and Related Agencies Subcommittee. Because of the esteem in which he was held by his colleagues and the leadership. Louis Stokes would also later be selected to chair the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee charged with investigating the assassinations of President Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. As Chairman of the House Ethics Committee and a person of unquestioned integrity. Louis Stokes oversaw the committees investigation of the corruption scandal known as ABSCAM in 197980. which eventually led to convictions of a senator and six House members. Mr. Speaker. Louis Stokes perhaps is best known for the national attention he attracted in 1987 as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran ("IranContra"). the scandal involving the illegal sale of military weapons to E1235 the Ayatollah Khomeinis Iran to generate money to fund the illegal contra war in Nicaragua. In response to the claim by Colonel Oliver North that he acted out of patriotism in engineering the illegal weapons sales and diverting the proceeds to fund the contras. a stern Louis Stokes lectured the misguided Colonel North on the rule of law. the true meaning of patriotism. and. in the process American exceptionalism: I suppose that what has been most disturbing to me about your testimony is the ugly part. In fact. it has been more than ugly. It has been chilling. and. in fact. frightening. Im not just talking about your part in this. but the entire scenario. about government officials who plotted and conspired. who set up a straw man. a fall guy. Officials who lied. misrepresented and deceived. Officials who planned to superimpose upon our government a layer outside of our government. shrouded in secrecy and only accountable to the conspirators. Colonel. as I sit here this morning looking at you in your uniform. I cannot help but remember that I wore the uniform of this country in World War II in a segregated Army. I wore it as proudly as you do. even though our government required black and white soldiers in the same Army to live. sleep. eat and travel separate and apart. while fighting and dying for our country. But because of the rule of law. todays servicemen in America suffer no such indignity. My mother. a widow. raised two boys. She had an eighthgrade education. She was a domestic worker who scrubbed floors. One son became the first black mayor of a major American city. The other sits today as chairman of a House intelligence committee. Only in America. Col. North. Only in America. And while I admire your love for America. I hope that you will never forget that others too love America just as much as you do and that others will die for America. just as quick as you will. Louis Stokes never wavered in his belief that America could fulfill the promise of its Founders or his dedication to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. stating: Im going to keep on denouncing the inequities of this system. but Im going to work within it. To go outside the system would be to deny myself to deny my own existence. Ive beaten the system. Ive proved it can be done so have a lot of others. But the problem is that a black man has to be extra special to win in this system. Why should you have to be a super black to get someplace? Thats whats wrong in the society. The ordinary black man doesnt have the same chance as the ordinary white man does. Mr. Speaker. Louis Stokes commitment to fairness and equal treatment started long before he was elected to Congress. As a lawyer for the NAACP. he brought antidiscrimination lawsuits. represented demonstrators arrested in antidiscrimination marches and sitins. and took the cases of poor persons charged with crimes. One of those criminal cases he took is known to every lawyer in America and appreciated by every person who cherishes the protections guaranteed by the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I am speaking of the famous case of Terry v. Ohio. 392 U.S. 1 (1968) won by Louis Stokes in which the Supreme Court held that a police officer could "stop and frisk" an individual only where he could articulate a reasonable basis that the person was. or was about to be. engaged in criminal activity. As a result of Terry v. Ohio. a police officer has the right to stop. frisk. and question an individual he reasonably suspects to be engaged in criminal activity. but cannot seize items from that person if the pat down of the suspects outer clothing does not reveal any weapons posing a threat to the officers safety. Because of Louis Stokes exceptional advocacy in Terry v. Ohio. the right of every individual to secure from unreasonable searches and seizures was preserved while at the same not impeding the ability of law enforcement officers to perform their duties safely. Mr. Speaker. every citizen benefits from this ruling and communities that have a history of being harassed by law enforcement protected by the Constitution from arbitrary and abusive treatment by law enforcement. But the fight for a criminal justice system that respects the rights of all persons is not over. That is why I am proud to be the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. Terrorism. Homeland Security. and Investigations and a leader in the effort to reform the criminal justice system so that all persons receive fair and equal treatment regardless of their race. gender. religion. or national origin. Louis Stokes fought tirelessly to fulfill the promise of the 14th Amendment that "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. nor shall any state deprive any person of life. liberty. or property. without due process of law. nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." It is a fight I am proud to continue today. Mr. Speaker. Louis Stokes will be mourned by friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle who had the privilege to serve alongside him. He was a mentor to me and I will always remember his commanding presence and cherish the assistance he provided me and the example he set for new Members to follow. My thoughts and prayers are with his Jay. Louis beloved wife of 55 years. to his children. Shelly. Louis. Angela. and Lorene. his grandchildren. and the untold thousands of persons who touched and whose lives were touched by one of Clevelands greatest sons. Mr. Speaker I ask the House to observe a moment of silence in memory of Louis Stokes. an exceptional American. and the gentleman from Ohio who served in this chamber for three decades with honor. integrity. and distinction.