Stokes, Carl Burton

Carl Burton Stokes (1927–1996), Cleveland, Ohio mayor from 1967 to 1971, was the first African American mayor of a major United States city. Stokes wanted to remake his city and expand opportunity, but local conflicts and broad economic and political forces shattered his ambitions.

Stokes and his brother Louis (a U.S. representative from 1969 to 1999) were raised by their mother in Cleveland's ghetto. Carl Stokes graduated from high school at 20, university at 27, and law school at 29. He worked for state and municipal government and jumped into local Democratic politics. Stokes became the first black Democrat in the Ohio house, winning in 1962, 1964, and 1966. Stokes broke with his party to support Republican capital spending and apportionment bills beneficial to African Americans.

Meanwhile, Stokes ran as an independent in the 1965 general election against Democratic Mayor Ralph Locher. His narrow loss (87,858–85,716) attracted corporate executives and suggested that Cleveland could elect a black mayor.

By 1967, Stokes was stronger. Locher's contempt for blacks energized them. A 1966 race riot and 1967 federal cutoff of urban renewal money convinced white liberals and business leaders of the need for change. In the October 1967 Democratic Primary, Stokes combined a huge black turnout, 15 percent support in white wards, and campaign funds from business executives to topple Locher, 110,769 to 92,321. In the November general election, Stokes raised his share of the vote in white areas to 19 percent by appealing to party loyalty and telling white ethnics his struggle paralleled theirs. Along with an 80 percent black turnout, it was barely enough to defeat Seth Taft, 129,396 to 127,717. In 1969, the same ghetto-corporate coalition won Stokes a second term over Republican County Auditor Ralph Perk, 120,616 to 116,863.

As mayor, Stokes increased minority hiring by the city and by government contractors. Black businesses got more city contracts and bank loans. The “Stokes's Cleveland: NOW!” redevelopment campaign won private and federal money for jobs, housing, health, and recreation. Cleveland enforced housing codes, cleared slums, and constructed 5,500 public housing units.

Stokes faced many setbacks as well. Scandal and personal clashes cost him advisers and administrators. Encounters with council and news media were often stormy. In July 1968, combat between black nationalists and police killed seven (including three policemen) and touched off arson and looting. Stokes angered whites by banning them (including police) from the riot zone and for his ties to black nationalists. A black mayor could not guarantee peace in the ghetto.

Stokes's initiatives in law enforcement and housing also met opposition. Police resisted when his administration assigned 200 staff cops to patrols, hired more blacks, and told officers to treat residents respectfully. The press publicized turnover at the top (four chiefs in 4 years) and a civil service exam scandal. Meanwhile, West Side whites opposed his Neighborhood Development Program and scattered-site public housing. And middle-class blacks stopped Stokes from erecting low-income housing on the East Side.

Inflation, growing service demands, departure of industry and white residents, and Democrats' loss of the White House undermined Cleveland's finances. Although the city council hiked the income tax in 1968, voters rejected additional increases in 1970 and 1971. At the same time, payroll costs climbed in the wake of the 1970 garbage and mass transit strikes. By 1971, Stokes cut the municipal workforce to curb a large deficit. Meanwhile, he continued to quarrel with [Page 767]white Democrats. In 1970, the Stokes brothers left the party to start an independent black caucus.

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