Louis Stokes was a giant in Ohio politics and one of the most significant figures in the U.S. Congress in recent times. When he arrived in the House of Representatives as a freshman in 1969; there were only six African Americans serving. By the time he retired thirty years later; he had chaired the House Special Committee on the Kennedy and King assassinations; the House Ethics Committee during Abscam; and the House Intelligence Committee during Iran-Contra; he was also a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Prior to Louis Stokes’s tenure in Congress he served for many years as a criminal defense lawyer and chairman of the Cleveland NAACP Legal Redress Committee. Among the Supreme Court Cases he argued; the Terry “Stop and Frisk†case is regarded as one of the twenty-five most significant cases in the court’s history. The Gentleman from Ohio chronicles this and other momentous events in the life and legacy of Ohio’s first black representative—a man who; whether in law or politics; continually fought for the principles he believed in and helped lead the way for African Americans in the world of mainstream American politics.
#237251 in Books University of Virginia Press 1996-10-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 6.75 x .75l; #File Name: 081391681X236 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Delaware gets its dueBy James V. HoltonDelaware often gets left out of the history books due to its small size and population; and being in the shadows of its more historically rich neighbors. Even in the historiography of slavery; Delaware gets left out-- a "Southern" state in terms of geography and slave status; but just barely.Essah conveys an informative; insightful sense of the slavery issue in Delaware and just how tenuous yet tenacious it was there. This happened because; as Essah ably displays; white supremacy was a constant thread in the state's history; well past the year of official emancipation. Essah delves into the persistence of slavery; the role played by free blacks; and the role that white supremacy played in keeping slavery and disfranchisement alive well past the end of the Civil War.The book is a quick and delightful read; with plenty of charts.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good for the 19th century but the title is a little misleadingBy William B. LiebeknechtThis book is well written but focuses mainly on slavery in Delaware during the 19th century. The early story of slavery in Delaware needs further development9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. THE source for information on Slavery in DelawareBy KTSPatience Essah's book is a landmark work on a seldom-studied area of American history: the question of slavery in Delaware. While books on slavery in larger states abound; and books on slavery nation-wide are myriad; neither truly addresses this issue in the First State; Delaware. What makes the subject so important; and what Essah illustrates so well; is that slavery in Delaware is slavery at the margin. Just south of the Mason-Dixon line; Delaware seemed more often to be drawn to Philadelphia than Baltimore or Richmond. As a state torn between these two powerful poles of attraction; Delaware featured the liveliest debate over slavery of any state in the Union. The Quaker and Methodist influences coupled with soil depletion served to make the preservation of slavery in Delaware precarious; and the political climate surrounding the peculiar institution; galvanic. Essah adequately portrays the struggle for emancipation in Delaware and gets to the heart of the anti-slavery struggle. The only criticism one could make is that she does not address the organization and methods of the pro-slavery forces as well as she does for the anti-slavery groups. A closer look at that side of the issue would lend greater understanding to the epic struggle between the forces of slavery and freedom in Delaware. All in all; a good book; and the best one available on the subject.
