Marion Barry

This article is about the former mayor of Washington, D.C. For his son, see Marion Christopher Barry. For other uses, see Marion Barry (disambiguation).

Marion Barry
Mayor of the District of Columbia
In office
January 2, 1995 – January 2, 1999
Preceded bySharon Pratt Kelly
Succeeded byAnthony Williams
In office
January 2, 1979 – January 2, 1991
Preceded byWalter Washington
Succeeded bySharon Pratt Kelly
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
from Ward 8
In office
January 2, 2005 – November 23, 2014
Preceded bySandy Allen
Succeeded byLaRuby May
In office
January 2, 1993 – January 2, 1995
Preceded byWilhelmina Rolark
Succeeded byEydie Whittington
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
At-Large
In office
January 2, 1975 – January 2, 1979
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJohn Ray
Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
In office
1960–1961
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byCharles McDew
Personal details
Born
Marion Barry Jr.

(1936-03-06)March 6, 1936
Itta Bena, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedNovember 23, 2014(2014-11-23) (aged 78)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeCongressional Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Blantie Evans
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1962; div. 1964)​
  • Mary Treadwell
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1972; div. 1977)​
  • Effi Slaughter
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1978; div. 1993)​
  • Cora Masters
    ​
    (m. 1993)​
ChildrenMarion (with Effi Barry)
Education

Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014)[1] was an American politician who served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served three tenures on the Council of the District of Columbia, representing as an at-large member from 1975 to 1979, in Ward 8 from 1993 to 1995, and again from 2005 to 2014.

In the 1960s, he was involved in the civil rights movement, first as a member of the Nashville Student Movement and then serving as the first chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Barry came to national prominence as mayor of the national capital, the first prominent civil rights activist to become chief executive of a major American city.[2] He gave the presidential nomination speech for Jesse Jackson at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. His celebrity was transformed into international notoriety in January 1990, when he was videotaped during a sting operation smoking crack cocaine and was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials on drug charges. The arrest and subsequent trial precluded Barry from seeking re-election, and he served six months in a federal prison. After his release, he was elected to the Council of the District of Columbia in 1992. He was elected again as mayor in 1994, serving from 1995 to 1999.

Despite his history of political and legal controversies, Barry was a popular and influential figure in Washington, D.C. The alternative weekly Washington City Paper nicknamed him "Mayor for life", a designation that remained long after Barry left the mayoralty.[3] The Washington Post once stated that "to understand the District of Columbia, one must understand Marion Barry".[4]

  1. ^ Stout, David (November 23, 2014). "Marion Barry, Washington's 'Mayor for Life,' Even After Prison, Dies at 78". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Barras, Jonetta Rose (1998). The Last of the Black Emperors: The Hollow Comeback of Marion Barry in a New Age of Black Leaders. Bancroft Press. ISBN 0-9631246-6-8.
  3. ^ Jaffe, Harry S.; Sherwood, Tom (1994). Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C. New York City: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-76846-8.
  4. ^ "Marion Barry: Making of a Mayor". The Washington Post. May 21, 1998. Retrieved October 31, 2010.