She is also a retired deputy director of the Illinois Department of Public Health and a community volunteer.
After a challenging childhood, which included her father being shot and wounded in a fight, Stokes moved to Chicago when she was five to live with a great aunt.
[3] LDS Church missionaries visited her in Chicago and she began attended the local congregation.
Stokes was baptized on April 28, 1979 at the church's Hyde Park, Chicago meetinghouse.
She continues to be an advocate for minorities in the LDS Church and is considered a pioneer for African-Americans.