I was saddened to hear that trailblazing congressmember Stephanie Tubbs-Jones died suddenly on August 20 of a brain aneurysm. She was elected to Congress in 1998, representing the 11th Congressional District that was represented previously by Congressman Louis Stokes. She was serving her fifth term, was the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in the House, the first African-American woman in the history of Congress to be elected to the House Ways and Means Committee and was the chairwoman of the House Ethics Committee.
I'm watching on C-SPAN the memorial service that is happening in Cleveland as I write this. It's being attended by over 2,500 people that include the members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, former president Bill Clinton, Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, vice presidential nominee Joe Biden and a host of local and state officials. She is definitely going to be missed on the national scene.
