Photo via Columbia University
The recent passing, at 93, of New York Mayor David N. Dinkins, reminded me of my special friendships with him, and the late former Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes, and how they were role models for several prominent black Milwaukee elected officials in years gone by.
As a member of the editorial board of the New York Daily News (1987-91), I was privileged to interview and write editorials and op-ed columns about Mayors Dinkins and Stokes, and previously closely covered the latter’s groundbreaking, successful campaign in Cleveland as a reporter with The Plain Dealer (1966-70).
During my time as an editorial writer-columnist with The Milwaukee Journal (1986-87), I shared some of my experiences with these pioneering Black mayors with former Common Council President Ben Johnson; Alderwoman Marlene Johnson; State Rep. Annette Polly Williams, and mayoral candidate Marvin Pratt, among others.
Happily—but not surprisingly—each was effusive in their praise for Dinkins and Stokes. Much of this was related to me during my pre-endorsement editorial board candidate interviews at The Journal. These high-profile local black politicians credited the election of Stokes—in 1967, the first Black mayor of a major American city and Dinkins, New York’s only Black mayor (1990-93)—with their desire to run for office in Milwaukee.
Black Candidates Win Elections
The soft-spoken Ben Johnson – my former Lincoln High classmate—often regaled me with his admiration for Stokes, who stood so tall to win election in Cleveland at a time when racial strife was front and center. His sentiments were shared by the stately Marlene Johnson—Ben’s wife at the time. Both told me how meeting with Stokes on two occasions strongly influenced their political lives.
The fiery State Rep. Williams—never at a loss for words—once cornered me in the kitchen of my apartment during a house party to go on and on about her admiration for the elegant Dinkins, then Manhattan Borough President. Before leaving, she predicted, correctly, that one day, he would be mayor of New York.
Role Models
During my pre-endorsement Journal interview of the street-smart Pratt—the first important political figure I met after joining The Journal in 1986—I was overwhelmingly impressed by his knowledge of the careers of Stokes and Dinkins. Stressing how much he revered both, he made sure to ask me to relate these facts to the editorial board (The Journal called it the Editorial Conference) to further his chances for an endorsement in his run for Milwaukee mayor. Dinkins, who succeeded Ed Koch in 1990 and preceded Rudy Giuliani, was New York’s only Black mayor. He narrowly lost to Giuliani in his bid for reelection in 1993.
|
|
My personal relationship with the outspoken, pro-Black Stokes’ began when I covered his mayoral campaign as a reporter at The Cleveland Plain Dealer and continued over the years. After leaving office, the telegenic, media savvy Stokes was an award-winning TV news reporter in New York with WNBC (Channel 4).
One of my best personal memories of Stokes—which I hastened to share with Ben and Marlene Johnson, Williams and Pratt, to their utter delight—was a signed copy of his controversial memoir: Promises of Power: Then and Now. Thanking me profusely for one of my Daily News columns, in blue ink, on the inside front cover, Stokes wrote: “To a respected reporter and columnist, Dick Carter. With warm regards, Carl B. Stokes. Dick: It was my honor that you compared me with Dave Dinkins. Carl.”
In 1994 – as President Clinton’s ambassador to the Seychelles, Stokes was an hour-long telephone guest on WNOV radio’s highly rated “Carter-McGee Report” in Milwaukee. Making this even better, I invited Ben, Marlene and Polly to join me in the studio to talk with Carl. They loved it—and so did he.
The Stokes family, of course, was highly political. Carl’s high-profile brother -- U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio) —was chairman of the Select Commission that investigated the John F. Kennedy assassination. Lou Stokes daughter, Lori, is a popular, long-time news anchor on WNEW-TV (Channel 5) in New York.
In 1998, Dinkins was my special guest speaker in New York at a “Media and Race Relations” forum I hosted for my New School class and some 200 paid attendees on W. 12th St. in Greenwich Village. He arrived in a black tennis jacket, which he doffed to reveal spiffy formal wear, and proceeded to charm the audience.
Meanwhile, Dinkins ground-breaking legacy lives on. His son, David Dinkins Jr. produces boxing telecasts for Showtime premium cable, and the network ran a touching tribute to Mayor Dinkins Saturday night, Dec. 12. It featured kudos from over the years by many important black figures, including Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Muhammad Ali.
Knowing Dinkins’ reputation as a tennis fan, Ben, Marlene and Polly also got a kick out of my story about one of my invited visits to Gracie Manion – official residence of New York mayors – and our discussing Alfred Hitchcock’s tennis-based thriller Strangers on a Train (1951.) Dinkins knew the plot—and the lines—inside out and told me it was one of his all-time favorite films.
And now, Dave Dinkins and Carl Stokes—who passed away some years ago at 69—are gone. But their special memories will always live on with me. And I’m so happy each man was so revered and considered political role models by my Black Milwaukee elected official friends who revered each as a career-changing role model.
