Wed 1/25 @ 7PM
The Stokes brothers, Carl and Louis, changed the face of Cleveland politics. Carl Stokes was the first black mayor of a large American city, while Louis Stokes served the east side of Cuyahoga County in Congress for 30 years and died in 2015 at the age of 90, still an influential figure in local politics.
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Cuyahoga Community College, John Carroll University, the City Club of Cleveland, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and ideastream are kicking off a year-long celebration of the accomplished brothers who grew up in the Outhwaite Homes projects in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, raised by a widowed mother.
The opening program, “In Their Footsteps: African-American Elected Officials and the Legacy of the Stokes Brothers” takes place at the Mandel Humanities Center at Tri-C East. There former ideastream host Dee Perry and Mayor Frank Jackson will talk about how race relations affected northeast Ohio’s past and how they’ll likely impact its future. It’s free.