In memoriam Stephanie Tubbs Jones 1949-2008

DKS Editors

As we celebrate the 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote, we feel it’s necessary to pay tribute to one who fought endlessly for the rights of others.

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones was the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress. She died last Wednesday at 58 of a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm.

Tubbs Jones was a five-term representative in Ohio’s heavily Democratic 11th District. She was the first black woman to serve as a common pleas court judge in Ohio and the first black woman to serve on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

A memorial service for Tubbs Jones will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in the Cleveland Convention Center. Viewing is 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 29 at Bethany Baptist Church in Cleveland and 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Aug. 30 at the auditorium. Tubbs Jones wished to be cremated, and there will be no burial, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Scholarship Fund in care of The Cleveland Foundation.