Louis Stokes was elected to the U.S. Congress from Ohio in 1969 and served for 30 years — a record tenure, at the time, for an African-American in the House of Representatives. In this oral history from the collection of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Stokes details his journey from a Depression era childhood in Cleveland to the halls of Congress. And he recalls the founding of the caucus — which marks its 40th anniversary in 2011 — and early strategies to gain political power and influence.