Cleveland's First black Mayor Sworn In: Carl B. Stokes, his wife Shirley behind him, takes the oath of office to become Mayor of Cleveland, the nation's eighth largest city. Administering the oath is Municipal Judge Anthony A. Rutkowski, a long-time friend of the new mayor.

Carl Burton Stokes (1927-1996) was an American politician and diplomat of the Democratic party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected in, 1967, he was the first black elected mayor of a major U.S. city. As mayor, Stokes opened city hall jobs to blacks and women. He was known as a strong administrator, and is remembered for his vision and motivation. He also initiated Cleveland: Now!, a public and private funding program aimed at the revitalization of Cleveland neighborhoods. Stokes was reelected in 1969.

On recto: typewritten title and date.
On verso: manuscript title, Associated Press stamp and date stamps.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Anthony Rutkowski
• Broken barriers
• Carl B. Stokes
• Civil Rights Movements
• Cleveland
• Injustice
• Mayors
• Racial Discrimination
• Shirley Stokes
• Spouses
• Swearing in ceremonies

• Image Dimensions: 7 x 9 5/16 in. (17.78 x 23.65 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin
• Sheet Dimensions: 8 1/16 x 10 in. (20.48 x 25.4 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin