| | Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 1 | Title: | Carl Stokes Papers
| | | | Creator: | Stokes, Carl | | | | Dates: | 1956-1972 | | | | Abstract: | Carl Stokes (1927-1996) was the Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1967-1971. Stokes was the first African American mayor of a major American city and the first African American Democrat in the Ohio State Legislature, where he served three terms from 1962-1967. As mayor, Stokes launched a number of programs to alleviate the problems of urban decay. Chief among these was Cleveland: NOW!, a joint public and private program with plans to raise $177 million in its first two years to revitalize Cleveland. The program was discredited due to the Glenville Shootout in July, 1968. Under Stokes, Cleveland City Council passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Ordinance, and HUD resumed funding projects aiding in the construction of over 3,000 new low- and middle-income housing units. Stokes became a newscaster with NBC television in 1972, and returned to his law practice in Cleveland in 1980. In 1983, Stokes was elected a municipal court judge. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and newspaper clippings pertaining to the political career of Carl B. Stokes, including his terms in the Ohio State legislature, his mayoral campaigns, and particularly his tenure as mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. The collection details the organization of the mayor's office, and illustrates the problems that Blacks in the vanguard of social and political progress faced, as well as the challenges faced by any urban leader in the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s. Key events in Stokes' administration are illustrated, including the Glenville Shootout, the hiring and resignation of Safety Director Gen. Ben Davis, the activities of the Mayor's Council on Youth Opportunities, and Cleveland: NOW! The work of then City Council President James Stanton is represented, along with material relating to Stokes' brother Louis. Notable correspondents include Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Robert F. Kennedy, Spiro Agnew, Cyrus Eaton, Edward Kennedy, George Forbes, Jesse Jackson, and Howard Metzenbaum. | | | | Call #: | MS 4370 | | | | Extent: | 104.51 linear feet (107 containers and 1 oversize folder) | | | | Subjects: | Stokes, Carl. | Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority. | Cleveland Transit System. | Cleveland: NOW! | African American mayors -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African American politicians -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Administrative agencies -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Records and correspondence. | Air -- Pollution -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | City planning -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Community development, Urban -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Political campaigns -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Housing -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Urban renewal -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Urban policy -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Youth -- Employment -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Glenville Shootout, Cleveland, Ohio, 1968. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Appropriations and expenditures. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Officials and employees. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Economic conditions. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Economic policy. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Social conditions. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Social policy. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Race relations.
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| Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 2 | Title: | Cleveland: NOW! Records
| | | | Creator: | Cleveland: NOW! | | | | Dates: | 1967-1977 | | | | Abstract: | Cleveland: NOW! was a multiracial joint public and private program for extensive urban renewal and revitalization in Cleveland, Ohio, created by Mayor Carl B. Stokes following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. The program planned to raise $1.5 billion over ten years. The first 2-year phase called for spending $177 million for projects in eight areas: neighborhood housing rehabilitation; accelerated urban renewal; the creation of 16,000 jobs; expansion of small business opportunities; city planning; health, welfare, and day care centers; summer recreation programs for youth; and the construction of Camp Cleveland. The program was discredited due to the Glenville Shootout of July 23, 1968, a gun battle between police and members of the Black Nationalists Organization of New Libya who obtained weapons with funds received indirectly from Cleveland: NOW! Stokes and the NOW! trustees were sued in 1970 by 8 policemen wounded in the shootout, but the suit was dismissed in 1977. Although Cleveland: NOW! met many of its initial goals, the organization ceased activities for the most part after 1970, and was formally dissolved in 1980. The collection consists of articles of incorporation, minutes, board of trustees records, correspondence, financial records, records of the major programs, publicity information, newspaper clippings, and proceedings of lawsuits. The collection pertains to a dramatic, multiracial attempt on a large scale to address and ameliorate a wide range of social ills by initial infusions of large amounts of money. The financial records and contributors correspondence contain detailed information for a possible demographic examination of contributors to the program. | | | | Call #: | MS 4501 | | | | Extent: | 3.80 linear feet (5 containers) | | | | Subjects: | Stokes, Carl. | Evans, Fred (Fred Ahmed), d.1978. | Cleveland: NOW! -- Archives. | Cleveland (Ohio). Mayor's Council on Youth Opportunities. | Near West Side Multi-Service Center (Cleveland, Ohio) | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Administrative agencies -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Records and correspondence. | Community development, Urban -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Community centers -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Social action -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Youth -- Employment -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Youth -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Recreation. | Glenville Shootout, Cleveland, Ohio, 1968. | Urban renewal -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Urban policy -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Housing rehabilitation -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Social work with youth -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Job creation -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Fund raising -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Recreation and juvenile delinquency. | Charities -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Businessmen -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Charitable contributions. | Camp Cleveland (Cleveland, Ohio) | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Social policy. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Social conditions. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Race relations.
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