Ruby Bridges – civil rights icon, activist, author – is the featured keynote speaker at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s 119th Annual Meeting. Click here to learn more about the event.
Ms. Bridges will deliver her keynote remarks via conversation with Lori Stokes, an award-winning American broadcast journalist and Legal Aid supporter.
Lori Stokes is former anchor of the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news for WNYW-FOX 5 News before retiring in September of 2022. She was previously the versatile co-anchor of the station’s flagship morning show, “Good Day New York,” alongside Rosanna Scotto. Stokes joined WNYW-FOX 5 News in 2017. Prior to joining WNYW-Fox 5 News, Stokes served for 17 years as co-anchor of "Eyewitness News This Morning" at WABC in New York. She is a trusted voice in the industry and has reported on some of the biggest stories over her 40-year career including the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s death, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Columbine and Newtown massacres, the Blackout of 2003, and Hurricanes Sandy and Hugo. She has interviewed figures such as President Gerald Ford, Senator John McCain, Oprah, Spike Lee, Alex Rodriguez, Joe Theismann, Robin Roberts, James Brown, Harry Belafonte, Gore Vidal, and countless others.
Before WABC, Stokes worked at MSNBC/NBC. While there, she reported for "NBC Nightly News Weekend" and anchored for "NBC Sunrise" and "Weekend Today Show." Stokes was the first African American to broadcast on MSNBC. Earlier in her career, she reported for ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington, DC where she served as evening anchor at six and 11 o’clock.
Lori Stokes has won eight Emmys for her work as well as a New York Press Club Award. She was honored with the George P. Foster Peabody Award for her September 11, 2001 coverage of the World Trade Center attack and received the 2003 Congressional Black Caucus Celebration of Leadership Award for her civic service and her status as a positive role model. The New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence recently honored Stokes for her entire body of work and her extensive community outreach efforts.
She is an alumna of Howard University and Ohio State University. Stokes currently serves on the board of trustees for the Cleveland Clinic and is on the Governing Board of Directors for the International Spy Museum.
Stokes is the daughter of American attorney, civil rights pioneer and former distinguished United States Representative Louis Stokes (D-OH-11), who served 15 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and was one of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus. She has two daughters and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.