| | Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 1 | Title: | MS 5433 George Forbes Papers, Series II
| | | | Creator: | George Forbes | | | | Dates: | 1945-2014 | | | | Abstract: | George L. Forbes (b. 1931) was arguably the most powerful man in Cleveland politics during the 1970s and 1980s. His position as the President of Cleveland City Council from 1974-1989 was crucial in the relationships he formed with mayors Dennis Kucinich and George Voinovich which were sometimes contentious. He also used this prominent position to promote civil rights and minority-owned businesses. Forbes was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1931, coming to the Cleveland area in the 1950s to earn his degrees from Baldwin Wallace College in 1957 and the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1961. A lawyer by profession, Forbes was admitted to both the Ohio and Federal Bars in 1962. In 1963 he was elected to Cleveland City Council, where he served for 27 years. He assisted Carl B. Stokes in his mayoral runs, helped to establish the 21st District Congressional Caucus to improve race relations within the Democratic party, and formed the first African-American law firm in Cleveland. He was also involved in a number of civic organizations, including the Cleveland Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he served as President from 1992-2012, The Urban League, The Council of Economic Opportunity, the Businessmen's Interracial Committee on Community Affairs, the John Harlan Law Club, and the National Association of Defense Lawyers for Criminal Cases. He was acquitted of bribery, extortion, and theft in office in 1979, has plead guilty to ethics violations in dealing with the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation in 2007, and was sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2008, which put his law license in jeopardy. During his career he has advocated for the poor and minority groups. He has worked against racial discrimination within a number of organizations, including the Regional Transit Authority and the Cleveland Police Force, created a mandate that a minimum percentage of construction work within the city be done by minority contractors/workers, and battled to improve city schools. The collection consists of awards, certificates, correspondence, financial records, legal documents, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, photographs, posters, research materials, reports, speeches, survey, and audiovisual recordings. | | | | Call #: | MS 5433 | | | | Extent: | 28.01 linear feet (31 containers, including one oversized container and one oversized folder) | | | | Subjects: | African American lawyers -- Ohio -- Cleveland | African American politicians -- Ohio -- Cleveland | Forbes, George L., 1931- | Cleveland (Ohio). City Council. | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Cleveland Branch. | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Civil rights -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Political campaigns -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Race relations.
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| Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 2 | Title: | Louis Stokes Scrapbooks
| | | | Creator: | Stokes, Louis | | | | Dates: | 1948-1998 | | | | Abstract: | Louis Stokes (b. 1925) served in the United States House of Representatives from the 21st and 11th congressional districts of Ohio from 1968-1999, representing the east side of Cleveland and several of its suburbs. The first African American from Ohio to serve in the House of Representatives, Stokes chaired the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the Ethics Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, HUD and independent agencies as well as work on the House Select Committee on Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. He was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the dean of the Ohio Congressional Delegation. The collection consists of 31 volumes containing mostly newspaper articles and clippings but also including awards, certificates, Congressional Record excerpts, editorials, invitations, magazine articles, newsletters, pamphlets, press releases, programs, and other such material. There is also an external hard-drive included with digital images of the volumes. | | | | Call #: | MS 5152 | | | | Extent: | 10.20 linear feet (31 volumes and 1 container) | | | | Subjects: | African American politicians -- Ohio -- Cleveland | African Americans -- Civil rights | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government | Congressional Black Caucus | Forbes, George L., 1931- | Jackson, Jesse, 1941- | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People | Stokes family | Stokes, Carl | Stokes, Louis, 1925-
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