City of Cleveland recognizes former mayor Carl B. Stokes with a Carl B. Stokes Day, Stokes the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city... Current mayor Justin Bibb comments, saying Cleveland is the birthplace of Black political power in this country...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

- June 30, 2025

Carl B. Stokes, the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio- The city of Cleveland recognized former mayor Carl B. Stokes on Mon., June 30, 2025 as the city's first Black mayor, naming it Carl B. Stokes Day, Stokes the first Black mayor of Cleveland and of a major American city.

June 30 is now Carl B. Stokes Day and Stokes' life and legacy will be celebrated annually in Cleveland.

Current mayor Justin Bibb, who led Monday's event, pointed to Stokes' portrait during a ceremony in the Rotunda at City Hall that also included family members of Stokes, community affiliates, and elected officials.

Bibb is Cleveland' fourth Black mayor, behind Frank Jackson, who is his immediate predecessor, Michael R. White, and Stokes, the city's 51st mayor who won office in 1967 when Cleveland, a majority Black major American city, was largely White.

Elected in 2021 for a first term and running for re-election this year, Mayor Bibb is president of the National Democratic Mayor's Association. He called Stokes a legend and part of the city's history, adding that Cleveland has long been a stable of political power for Black leaders and the Civil Rights Movement.

"Cleveland is the birthplace of Black political power in this country,” Bibb said, after presenting the Stokes family with a proclamation.

Cordell Stokes, Carl's son, said the honor for his father is well deserved."I’m just so proud of him," the younger Stokes said.

Councilmember Richard Starr presented a council resolution that reflects that council has officially made June 30 Carl B. Stokes Day in Cleveland.

Carl B. Stokes was the younger brother of former congressman Louis Stokes, a Civil Rights attorney and the first Black congressperson from Ohio.

The Stokes brothers grew up in poverty and were raised by a single working mother in the Outhwaite Homes, a housing project on Cleveland's majority Black east side.They went on to become self educated and to make history in Cleveland, and nationwide.

Before becoming mayor, Carl B. Stokes was a state representative, and later in his career, a U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles under then President Bill Clinton, and a Cleveland judge.

Carl B. Stokes died in 1996 of cancer of the esophagus, but his legacy, as well as that of his late brother Louis, lives on, especially for Clevelanders and the Black community.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com