Ohio's First African-American Woman In Congress Dies
Published: Thursday - August 21, 2008
Words by Allen Starbry
Congresswoman Tubbs Jones (Photo: Getty Images)
The first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress died on Wednesday (August 20) following a brain hemorrhage, said reports.
According to the Associated Press, Tubbs Jones died at the age of 58 of a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst and left her with limited brain function, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland Clinic, which owns the Huron Hospital in East Cleveland where Tubbs Jones died.
The Washington Post reports that police found Jones unconscious behind the wheel of her car Tuesday night (August 19) after they noticed it swerving, after which she was rushed to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland for treatment.
She was in critical condition throughout the day on Wednesday, and finally passed on just after 6:00 p.m.
Jones represented Ohio's 11th District since 1998, which includes eastern Cleveland and nearby suburbs. She was the first African American woman to represent the state in Congress.
She was also the first black woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where she opposed President Bush's tax cuts and his efforts to create personal accounts within Social Security.
"After making history as the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Ohio, the congresswoman worked to expand the rights of all Americans," President Bush said in tribute, according to the AP. "Our nation is grateful for her service."
Jones was a supporter of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primaries until throwing her support behind Sen. Barack Obama in June. She was to have been a superdelegate at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Obama called Tubbs Jones "an extraordinary American and an outstanding public servant."
"It wasn't enough for her just to break barriers in her own life,' Obama said in a statement. "She was also determined to bring opportunity to all those who had been overlooked and left behind -- and in Stephanie, they had a fearless friend and unyielding advocate."
Under state election laws, Cuyahoga County Democratic officials will choose a replacement for her on the November ballot.
The congresswoman was married for 27 years to Mervyn L. Jones, Sr., who died in 2003. She is survived by her son, Mervyn Leroy Jones, II.
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