Henry Jerome Stokes, Jr. was a white Baptist and Episcopal minister. Stokes was born on January 23rd, 1910 in Savannah, GA to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jerome Stokes, Sr. and died on March 29th, 1983 in Chatham, GA. Stokes married Mary Beth Strickland of Pembroke, GA on June 28th, 1934, with whom he had four children: Melissa, Beth, Henry Jerome III, and Sharon. He attended Mercer University and Yale Divinity School, as well as had a doctor of divinity degree from Mercer. Stokes was a member of Mercer’s President’s Council during the university’s desegregation in the 1960s.

At the beginning of his career, Stokes served several churches, including Gainesville First Baptist, Blythe, Louisville, Montezuma, and Monroe churches. Stokes became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Knoxville, Tennessee (FBC-Knoxville) in late 1946. He attempted to resign from FBC-Knoxville in late 1949 following disagreements with the church leaders. Stokes was convinced to remain at FBC-Knoxville until 1952. Stokes was called to the First Baptist Church of Macon, Georgia (FBC-Macon) in 1952, where he remained until 1963. Stokes left FBC-Macon due to low morale and disagreements with church members, noting in his resignation letter that “a minister can only fruitfully reach those who want his offered service.” He also told the Christian Index that “the content of my preaching, particularly as regarded justice to minority race groups, did not sit well with some in the church.” Following his departure from FBC-Macon, Stokes and his wife joined the Episcopal Church. He became licensed to preach in the Episcopal Church in 1964.