Congresswoman Fudge to lead annual 11th Congressional District Caucus Labor Day parade, a tradition started by the Stokes brothers, George Forbes and Arnold Pinkney, and an event that will draw a host of dignitaries and Democratic candidates as the race for Ohio governor this year is neck and neck between Democratic candidate Richard Cordray and Mike DeWine, the Republican nominee for governor....By Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com
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| Ohio 11th Congressional District Congresswoman Marcia L Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat and former president of the Congressional Black Caucus who is also a past national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. |
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| Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson |
Dignitaries expected at the gathering include Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, the city's third Black mayor who is currently serving a historical fourth term, judges, councilpersons and Democratic candidates for judgeship's, state representative, state senator and statewide office.
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| Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray and Republican candidate Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who are in a heated race this year for Ohio governor |
This will be the 47th year of the festivities and the parade will proceed down Kinsman Avenue to Luke Easter Park where participants can expect vendors, food trucks, political speeches, entertainment and the battle of the bands.
It began with a small picnic after Carl B. Stokes was elected mayor in 1967, the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city, and expanded from a parade to a parade and picnic in 1971 when the late Congressman Louis Stokes, as representative for the then 21st congressional district, instituted the tradition of holding the event on an annual basis.
Louis Stokes, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, grew up in Cleveland's Outhwaite housing projects with his brother Carl, his only sibling, both of them raised by a single mother after their father Carl died when the congressman was 3.
The one time 21st congressional district, which includes Cleveland and several of its eastern suburbs as does the current 11th congressional district, was eliminated following the 1990 census and the 11th congressional district was derived via congressional redistricting.
The parade was started by the Stokes brothers, George Forbes, a part time Cleveland attorney, former longtime city council president and former longtime president of the Cleveland NAACP, and the late Arnold Pinkney of greater Cleveland, a political strategist who ran the first of Jackson's two unsuccessful campaigns for president.
It came about to showcase the political power of Blacks in greater Cleveland, and to provide a forum for candidates to campaign and lobby voters, mainly Democrats.
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| George Forbes, a former longtine president of Cleveland City Council, and a former longtime president of the Cleveland NAACP |
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| From left standing: The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the late political strategist Arnold Pinkney, the late Carl. B. Stokes, a former Cleveland judge and the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city, and (sitting) the late congressman Louis Stokes, the first Black congressperson from Ohio |
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| Former congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first Black female congressperson from Ohio |
A past national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. a former chief of staff to Tubbs Jones, and a former mayor of Warrensville Heights, Congresswoman Fudge replaced Tubbs Jones after her untimely death in 2008 at the age of 58, and has been since reelected several times by voters of the 11th congressional district.
Both Congresswoman Fudge and Louis Stokes are past presidents of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 5 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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