Marion Barry Jr., the Mississippi sharecropper’s son and civil rights activist who served three terms as mayor of the District of Columbia, survived a drug arrest and jail sentence, and then came back to win a fourth term as the city’s chief executive, died early on Nov. 23 at United Medical Center in Washington. He was 78.
He reclaimed his seat in the mayor’s office in 1995 and was re-elected to the City Council in 2004.
Over the summer, Barry released his autobiography, “Mayor for Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry, Jr.” It’s a nod to his longevity in the city politics of the capital.
He came to Washington as a champion of the downtrodden and the dispossessed and rose to the pinnacle of power and prestige. As mayor of the District, Mr. Barry became a national symbol of self-governance and home rule for urban blacks.
His programs helped provide summer jobs for youths, home-buying assistance for the working-class and food for senior citizens. And he placed African Americans in thousands of middle- and upper-level management positions in the city government that in previous generations had been reserved for whites.
“In Washington, I have worked hard for the people and I’ve been loved by the people,” Barry said in a July interview on CNN. “I didn’t get elected because of my name. I got elected because I work hard for the people.”
Barry will be missed.