Dee Perry spent 40 years as a Cleveland radio broadcaster. She hosted programs on Cleveland's public radio station, WCPN, where she was a leader in promoting the Arts. She has conducted more than 10,000 interviews and was the lead interviewer for the Stokes Oral History Project.
Leon Bibb's family moved to Cleveland from Alabama, when he was a child. He graduated from Glenville High School. After graduating from Bowing Green State University, his career in journalism was interrupted by the Vietnam War, where he received a Bronze Star for his service under fire. He worked as a television reporter in Toledo and Columbus before returning to Cleveland in 1979 to become an anchor and reporter at WKYC Channel 3. He retired in 2017.
Revereand Charles Lucas, Jr., was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He is the pastor of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church. During the 1970s, Rev. Lucas was president of the Cleveland Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
George L. Forbes was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He has owned a law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1971. He was a city councilman during 1963-1989 and served as the first black council president during his last eighteen years in office. Mr. Forbes was elected president of the Cleveland NAACP in 1992 and was appointed to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation in 1995.
Robert Madison was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1923. He was a decorated soldier during World War II and graduated from Western Reserve University and Harvard. Mr. Madison was the first African American to become a registered architect in the state of Ohio. He opened his firm in Cleveland in 1954 and has worked on major projects locally and worldwide. He served on Carl Stokes initial mayoral election campaign as a speech writer.
Richard Peery is a retired reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He is also a former reporter for the Call and Post newspaper. Raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he has lived in Cleveland, Ohio, for 40 years, and served as president of the Writer's Guild union at the Plain Dealer, and has continued his activism in the community.
Walter Beach III was born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1933. Before attending college, Beach served in the U.S. Air force, spending three years in Germany as a cryptographer. He graduated from Central Michigan University and played defensive back in both the Canadian and National Football Leagues, including with the the Cleveland Browns during the team's 1964 Championship season. He served as the director for Countil for Youth Opportunities during Carl Stokes' mayoral administration. He is a lawyer and author.
Steven Bullock was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, the grandson of a former slave. He was the CEO of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross from 1982 and was named acting president of the national agency for 1999. He also served on a number of boards of directors, including the Greater Cleveland Roundtable, the Cleveland Campaign, and Leadership Cleveland. In 2001, Bullock founded the Bullock Group, a management consulting company for non-profit and public institutions.
Betty Pinkney and her husband, Arnold, were long time advocates for Carl and Louis Stokes. Arnold helped with Louis Stoke's election to Congress and was a major strategist for the Democratic party. Arnold Pinkney, an insurance executive, also ran Jesse Jackson's national campaign for president in 1984.
Shelley Stokes-Hammond is the oldest daughter of Louis Stokes. She is a graduate of Ohio University and Goucher College. She is a historic preservationist, author, and public relations manager at Howard University.
The Rev. Emmitt Theophilus Caviness is a native of Marshall, Texas. He is the pastor of Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church and the president of the Cleveland chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Rev. Caviness served as a commissioner in the Carl Stokes mayoral administration.
Matthew Zone is a native Clevelander. He was elected to the Cleveland City Council in 2001, representing Ward 15, the same Detroit-Shoreway ward as his late parents, Councilman Michael J. Zone and councilwoman Mary Zone, on Cleveland, Ohio's west side. He is also president of the National League of Cities.
Michael White is from the Glenville neighborhood, of Cleveland, Ohio. While studying at The Ohio State University, he was studen union president. White was campaign manager for Louis Stokes' Congressional Campaign, and also served on the Cleveland City Council between 1978 and 1984. White was mayor of Cleveland from 1990 to 2002.
The Honorable Frank Jackson was first elected Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, in 2005. He had served for 15 years on the City Council prior to his election as mayor. As Mayor, Jackson kept the city solvent during a deep recession shortly after he took office. He has welcomed police reform, and has led a plan to transform Cleveland's public
Mary Rose Oakar was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives between 1977 and 1993, representing Ohio's 20th District, and being the first Arab-American member of the House of Representatives. She was Vice Chairperson of the House Democratic Caucus, 1985-1989, and served as president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. She served in the Ohio House of Representatives, serving Cleveland's 13th District, between 2001 and 2002. In 2012 she was elected to the Ohio State Board of Education to represent the 11th District.
The Rev. Dr. Joan Campbell was born in Youngstown and is an ordained pastor, who has committed her life to service and activism working with important leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. She worked to organize voters for Carl Stokes' mayoral campaign.She is also the mother of Jane Campbell, the first female mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
Peggy Zone-Fisher is a native Clevelander. She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Diversity Center NEO. Zone-Fisher's parents both served as Cleveland City Council members for Ward 15, the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood on Cleveland's west side.
George L. Forbes was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He has owned a law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1971. He was a city councilman during 1963-1989 and served as the first black council president during his last eighteen years in office. Mr. Forbes was elected president of the Cleveland NAACP in 1992 and was appointed to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation in 1995.
Dr. Grover C. Gilmore is the Dean and Professor of Applied Social Sciences at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University. He received his PhD. from John Hopkins University.