Postscript

As the last words of this thesis were being written, a bullet in Memphis, Tennessee, tragically ended the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The nation, shocked and bereaved by the savage murder, was swept by a wave of violence that descended upon scores of cities in the wake of Dr. King’s death. Cleveland, however, stayed “cool.”

As the news of the tragedy spread, Mayor Stokes walked and drove through the predominantly black sections of Cleveland, pleading for calm in the restless city. Visibly shaken by the assassination because of their close personal friendship, Mayor Stokes delivered a moving eulogy the following day to an overflow gathering at a memorial service in the Old Stone Church. Later in the day, Stokes huddled with black nationalist leaders in an effort to maintain calm. The efforts at keeping the peace succeeded in Cleveland. At a time when more than one hundred cities experienced mass disorders of some sort, Cleveland was conspicuous as the only major urban center that remained quiet. The calm had not resulted from para-military efforts or through repressive measures. Instead, the peace was maintained primarily through the efforts of Mayor Stokes and black leaders of the community, people who had regained some of their lost faith in the system of democracy. They were able to demonstrate to the dissident black residents that they had a very real stake in the decision-making apparatus of City Hall.

The episode following Dr. King’s assassination heralded a change in Mayor Stokes and his administration. Until this time the new mayor had appeared somewhat unsure of himself, groping blindly sometimes for nonexistent solutions; now he projected an infectious new self confidence in his own ability to lead the people of Cleveland toward solutions of their great problems. He now seemed to become the dynamic and vibrant leader that was necessary to move the community ahead. Thus, the assassination of Dr. King marked the beginning of a new period in the leadership of Carl Stokes.

In the ensuing months new ideas, new plans, and new programs were suggested and implemented by the Mayor and his administration. Incorporating an idea of his opponent in the previous election, Mayor Stokes began holding cabinet meetings in various neighborhoods around the city in an ef60rt to move government “closer” to the people. On April 26, the Mayor announced the formation of the Mayor’s Council on Youth Opportunity programs, a group whose function would be to find and create jobs for the youth of Cleveland.

Finally, on May 1, Mayor Stokes unveiled plans for a broad new program to combat the urban ills of Cleveland. Entitled “Cleveland: Now!,” the plan called for the expenditure of $177,000,000 for rehabilitation, urban renewal, economic development, job training and job placement — an attempt to attack the cycle of poverty from many directions. The money for “Cleveland: Now!” was to come primarily through the federal government ($143,000,000) if the city could raise $11,250,000 from private sources and pledge an additional $22,750,000 of state and local government funds. The innovative experiment combining the resources of various levels of government with resources from the private sector of the economy was lauded by many community leaders. Editorial support of the plan poured forth from both newspapers, and it became quite evident that Cleveland was taking a progressive step toward establishing new institutions and programs to rebuild the city. Symbolic evidence of the widespread support for “Cleveland: Now!” came in the form of a $1000 contribution to the program from two merchants whose salvage business had been completely destroyed in the Hough disorders two years earlier.

Mayor Stokes continued to exert dynamic leadership in other areas. At the polls in the May primary, the voters of Cuyahoga County approved four issues that had been strongly endorsed by the Mayor. These measures provided for the establishment of a Port Authority, more buildings for mentally retarded children, and a renewed as well as an increased County Welfare levy. “Cleveland: Now!” continued to gain popular and financial support, especially when it was announced that a private donation of one million dollars had been given to the program anonymously. Mayor Stokes had united Cleveland’s divergent forces into common action with the plans for “Cleveland: Now!”

Late in May some tension developed between the Mayor and City Council over the Mayor’s recommendation of an income tax hike from ¹⁄₂% to 1%. Although the proposed rate increase received wide support from many sources, the Council was reluctant to raise taxes, primarily because it feared the image of being “pressured” into enacting legislation. However, yielding to economic realities as well as persuasion from the Mayor, the Council finally passed the tax hike on June 10 with only three members voting against the measure.

The summer arrived optimistically for most Clevelanders. The Mayor had dramatically demonstrated that he could keep Cleveland “cool,” new programs were being implemented that pushed Cleveland to the forefront among progressive cities, and the long-dormant Indians appeared to have a chance to win the pennant. New cultural attractions and programs in the inner city brought a new dimension to life there, and some people almost forgot that violence had flared in the city only two years before.

The night of July 23 brought the entire city crashing down into reality again. In Glenville, another of Cleveland’s East Side neighborhoods, a group of heavily armed men suddenly opened fire on an unarmed police towning crew. The group, composed chiefly of militant black nationalists and ostensibly led by the renowned Fred “Ahmed” Evans, did not stop shooting until ten persons had died, including three white policemen and a black civilian shot while trying to rescue a policeman. The tense East Side once again tottered on the brink of widespread civil disorder. Some looting and arson followed the attack on the policemen on Tuesday night, forcing Mayor Stokes to ask for the National Guard as a precautionary measure. The following night, with the city anticipating the worst violence, Mayor Stokes took the unprecedented and controversial action of removing all white police and guardsmen from the Glenville and Hough areas to positions on the periphery of the neighborhoods. After meeting with black leaders for much of the day, Stokes had decided to allow the black leaders to assume the responsibility of maintaining calm in the area. Only black policemen were allowed in the cordoned-off zone in a move calculated to avert the further loss of human lives.

The daring move by Stokes was successful. Although vandalism and looting occurred to a moderate degree, there were no more deaths that night. By Thursday it appeared that the crisis had passed, although Mayor Stokes ordered a curfew for the area and sent the National Guard and all police back into the troubled area in an effort to curtail further vandalism and looting.

Many unanswered questions lingered after the brief period of violence that served to tarnish the bright image of Mayor Stokes as well as some of his new programs, despite his courageous handling of the situation. A reporter discovered that “Ahmed” Evans had received “Cleveland: Now!” money to establish a black cultural center but that some of the money allegedly had been used to purchase weapons for the Tuesday night encounter. The method of distributing the funds came under severe criticism, even though other such efforts had been successful in the past. The police also claimed to have had prior knowledge of the arms cache of the black nationalists, but that orders from City Hall had prevented them from taking any action before the violence broke out. The actual facts of the circumstances surrounding the event were not readily available.

The police and other embittered sections of the community openly criticized the Mayor and his actions during the crisis. However, a broad cross section of community leaders were persuaded to rally to support the Mayor’s handling of the situation, and it seemed that any damage to Mayor Stokes or his programs was not irreparable.

As the Summer entered its final month, the black community no longer remained unified behind Mayor Stokes. A small and violently militant faction had given up on the system and sought to destroy it, but their actions appeared to be of a different nature than those that had characterized the Hough disorders of 1966. However, a segment of the black community, convinced that present institutions were not flexible enough to produce significant and lasting change, remained skeptical of Mayor Stokes and his attempts to effect change within the system. Others, though, recognized the innovative and exciting spirit that had permeated the city since Stokes’ election and retained their faith in the democratic process. There is little doubt that this new brand of leadership will be increasingly necessary in the future if the cities are to survive.

Contemporary history never quite catches up to itself. Analysis ages quickly in the rapid cycle of human affairs, and the future is impossible to foresee. The administration of Mayor Stokes has met with both success and failure during its brief tenure. However, its greatest success so far, as demonstrated by Stokes’ handling of the Glenville violence, has been to restore hope and faith to Cleveland and to provide the bold and aggressive leadership required to cope with the severe problems of the urban centers. Some wrong turns have been taken and some efforts have been made to impede its motion, but the City of Cleveland is at last moving down the tracks toward progress. A return trip won’t be necessary.

August 1, 1968 Marc E. Lackritz