This document was about Carl Stokes the mayor of Cleveland. Dr. King was planning on going to Cleveland but Stokes was worried the effect King would have on Cleveland. He didn't want King to come to because he was worried he would disturb the peace and balance in Cleveland. He knew that it was important to not anger the white voters with coming because he knew he couldn't win the election without the whites votes. Stokes respected King and thoughout is courage was very honorable but he knew how important winning the election was. When King came Stokes did what he desicribed as one of the hardest things of his life, he asked for King to leave. King said he couldn't leave but he promised not to cause problems. King respected this promise and in the end did limit his actions and ended up really helping the city.
Stokes’s concern about the SCLC’s activities in Cleveland was political. What does Stokes’s dilemma
suggest about his understanding of the politics of getting elected?
As I stated above, Stokes was worried that the SCLC's activities in Cleveland would angert he whites and the balance the city had would be lost. He was worried that these actions would bring hate and anger out of the whites. He knew that if the whites were angry they wouldn't vote for him and he couldn't win on the black votes alone. He respected Dr. King and knew that the things he were doing were important but it would hurt him politically and the political campaign was very important to him.
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