Marion Barry: The Unmitigated Gall to Rise from the Ashes and Come Back to Win
by BAR editor and columnist Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo
“His rhetoric and policies elevated the alleviation of poverty to priority status in his administration.”
Marion Barry, 78, a prominent political figure in Washington, D.C. history, died on Sunday, November 23rd. The DC medical examiner stated that Barry died of natural causes due to heart problems. He collapsed outside his home.
For many African-American Washingtonians, Barry’s emergence on the political scene was a welcome breath of free air compared to the conservative and subservient politics of his predecessors. Washington, D.C. prior to the civil rights movement was, as Barry would describe it, a “sleepy southern town.” Segregation in public facilities, such as hotels, department stores and parks, was the daily reality for Black Washingtonians. Barry’s political focus, informed by his political activism, was unapologetically pro-African-American and his rhetoric and policies elevated the alleviation of poverty to priority status in his administration.
Under Barry's leadership poverty alleviation and empowerment of African-Americans became anathema to developers, racist city council members and national political leaders. Barry was on the front line fighting to maintain black control of Washington, D.C. from the politically powerful investors bent on ethnic cleaning cum gentrification.
Barry was born, March 6, 1936 to sharecropper parents, Marion and Mattie Barry under the harsh apartheid system in the small Mississippi delta town of Itta Bena. Unrelenting racist assaults against his family and the African-American community triggered his passion for political activism. Despite daunting barriers, Barry earned a Master’s Degree in chemistry at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee during the arc of the civil rights movement. He left school short of a doctorate to work in the civil rights movement. However, his love of education was evident in his unwavering support of the University of the District of Columbia both as Mayor and Council-member.
“Barry’s political focus was markedly distinct from previous political directions that sought to appease white political stakeholders.”
In 1960, Barry became the first national chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Under his leadership, SNCC sent young students into the southern warfront to register black voters and participate in direct non-violent action. SNCC became known as the leading progressive civil rights movement of the 1960s. Barry’s long-time friend and fellow-SNCC activist, Congresswoman Eleanor Homes Norton wrote:
“From my earliest encounter with Marion Barry, when he was the first chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee until I came back home and found him mayor of my home town, I have seen Marion take hold and write his signature boldly on his own life and times and on the life of the nation’s capital. Many took his struggle to personify in some way their own, endearing him and making him a larger-than-life figure as he became a creator of post-home-rule D.C.”
Barry’s activism in SNCC led him to Washington, DC. Barry became a member of the school board and later in 1974 he was elected to the city council. Barry’s political focus was markedly distinct from previous political directions that sought to appease white political stakeholders. His early years in politics defined the policies that became his political signature: expansion of the government payroll, the explosion of a black middle class, summer jobs that provide work experience for young people and an emphasis on creating stability and opportunities for senior citizens.
The Washington Post noted that he "plowed hundreds of millions of tax dollars into job training and employment programs, senior centers and social-welfare endeavors. Rank-and-file workers were hired by the thousands to serve under Mr. Barry's newly-appointed supervisory corps of African American middle and top level managers."
He ardently promoted African-American-owned enterprises. His recently released autobiography, Mayor for Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry, Jr., quotes a statement he made during President Richard Nixon's administration that illustrated Barry's ability to spotlight inequalities in America: "Why should blacks feel elated about seeing men walk on the moon when millions of poor blacks and whites don't have enough money to buy food to eat on earth?" In a July interview on CNN, Barry stated: "In Washington, I have worked hard for the people and I've been loved by the people...I didn't get elected because of my name. I got elected because I work hard for the people.”
“Barry helped scores of residents get jobs and fought for the city's poorest residents.”
Despite the avalanche of propaganda against Barry, everyday folks in Washington, D.C. understood his contribution: Outside Union Temple Baptist Church on Sunday near Barry's home, Mallika D. Jefferson, 40, of Washington, said three generations of her family got jobs with Barry's help. "He was a man of perseverance," she said. "He told it like it is. He didn't care. He wasn't afraid to let people know that he knew this city better than anybody."
Many noted Barry helped scores of residents get jobs and fought for the city's poorest residents.
"He was a great man," said Pastor Willie Wilson of Union Temple Baptist Church, drawing sustained cheers and applause of parishioners Sunday. "Even at times when the coffers of the city, our budget, were not anywhere near what they are today, he insisted that opportunity be made available."
In 1999, Poet Maya Angelou commented: "Barry changed America with his unmitigated gall to stand up in the ashes of where he had fallen and come back to win.”
In 1978, he defeated incumbent Mayor Walter Washington—the city’s first home rule mayor—in the Democratic primary and went on to easily win the general election.
Barry’s early years in office were marked by improvement in many city services and a dramatic expansion of the government payroll, creating a thriving black middle class in the nation’s capital. Barry established a summer jobs program that gave many young people their first work experience and earned him political capital.
Barry was a four-term mayor despite FBI stings and US government tactics that violated every moral and ethical barrier. There was clearly a target on his back and those in high places made the destruction of Marion Barry a priority. But every time the system thought they had destroyed him, he found an extraordinary inner strength to push back. No doubt, his indiscipline and recklessness provided ample opportunities for his enemies to strike but his courage to fight and his stamina provided the fortitude to prevail. A recitation of these can be found throughout corporate media and need not be repeated here.
“There was clearly a target on his back and those in high places made the destruction of Marion Barry a priority.”
Former Harvard professor and civil rights leader Cornell West said on CNN on Sunday that Barry "had his flaws" but was a "great freedom fighter" for the poor and disenfranchised….
It must also be noted that Marion Barry was a dedicated and passionate anti-apartheid activist. His support of the DC-based anti-apartheid movement provided much needed local government assistance and encouragement. He understood life under apartheid, having experienced it first-hand in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
On a personal note, I met Marion Barry when I first arrived in Washington, D.C. and enlisted his help in finding a job. He assured me that DC was also looking for people like me and that I should let him know how he could help. I left my first meeting with Barry understanding that DC represented a special place for young black professionals that would probably not be duplicated in many other areas of the country. Later, as the Senior International Policy Analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, I had the opportunity to write a number of his speeches on the anti-apartheid movement.
Barry understood the organic relationship between African-Americans and the people of Africa. He encouraged a number of sister-city relationships that will survive his passing. When questioned why he was traveling to Africa as mayor of Washington, D.C., he simply said: "I am making this trip to Africa because Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria or Israel. As mayor, I am an international symbol. Can you deny that to Africa?”
There is always the temptation to exaggerate the legacy of the departed. Barry was no saint. He was fond of saying that “He’s a public servant not a perfect servant.” Compared to many of the political figures that BAR exposes each week, Barry’s contribution is noteworthy. He was son of the civil rights movement that never forgot his commitment to the struggle and the people, who indeed loved him.
Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo is the author of No FEAR: A Whistleblowers Triumph over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA, that is available through amazon.com. Dr. Coleman-Adebayo worked at the EPA for 18 years and blew the whistle on a US multinational corporation that endangered vanadium mine workers. Marsha's successful lawsuit led to the introduction and passage of the first civil rights and whistleblower law of the 21st century: the Notification of Federal Employees Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act). She is Director of Transparency and Accountability for the Green Shadow Cabinet, serves on the Advisory Board of ExposeFacts.com., and coordinates the DC-based Hands-Up Coalition. www.marshacoleman-adebayo.com.
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