Marion Barry: Mayor for Life
"...To understand D.C., you have to understand Marion Barry.” You're invited to browse photos, hear some remembrances of Barry, and visit the new exhibit at the MLK Library.
It’s a seemingly impossible story: Marion Barry Jr., the son of Mississippi sharecroppers, later a civil rights and Black Power activist, becomes a four-term mayor of the nation’s capital.
“I love the people of Washington. So if you love somebody, they, in return, love you. If you help them, they remember that.”
—Marion Barry
Southern Roots
Marion Barry Jr. was born in 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. He was shaped by the land of cotton fields and Jim Crow. Later in life, he displayed this voter registration poster in his home.
Before we moved from Mississippi, my mother had picked and chopped so much cotton that her hands were curled. — Marion Barry, in his autobiography Mayor For Life, 2014
As a child, Barry moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he became one of the state’s first Black Eagle Scouts. In 1958, he graduated from LeMoyne-Owen College and then moved to Nashville to study chemistry at Fisk University. There, he joined the Nashville Student Movement and participated in sit-ins.
Marion Barry announces the Free D.C. movement on the steps of the Wilson Building (1966) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
From Activist to Politician
In 1965, Barry was assigned to lead SNCC’s D.C. chapter, where he helped organize a bus boycott to fight unfair fare hikes. Barry was shocked to find that D.C. residents did not have the right to vote.
Marion Barry announces the Free D.C. movement, 1966
Photograph of Marion Barry with children. Date unknown. (1975/1990) by Courtesy of Cora Masters BarryDC Public Library
Larger than Life
Barry with Children, n.d.
Viva Barry poster (c. 1985) by Washingtoniana Ephemera CollectionDC Public Library
Caring with a Whole Heart
'Viva Barry' Campaign Poster, n.d.
Campaign button, "Barry to the Rescue! (1994) by Nia Kuumba CollectionDC Public Library
Dedicated to the People
Posters and buttons from Barry’s four successful mayoral races give a sense of the personal connection that many residents felt with him.
Button saved by Barry Supporter, Nia I. Kuumba, n.d.
Marion Barry collects garbage as part of a campaign about budget cuts (1980) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
Love of the City
Barry collects garbage as part of a campaign to explain budget-balancing cuts in city services, 1980
Barry campaign trail photo showing supporters holding 'Latinos for Barry' signs (1994) by Courtesy of Cora Masters BarryDC Public Library
Solidaridad/Solidarity
Supporters hold ‘Latinos for Barry’ signs, 1994
Pride, Inc. workers service a car at their new gas station (September 27, 1968) by Washington Star Photograph Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
'He Gave Me My First Job'
Two years after moving to D.C., Barry started Pride, Inc. with a mission to employ young men who others wouldn’t, and more than a thousand signed up the first summer.
Pride workers service a car at their new gas station, 1968.
Instructor Jimmie Powell and class in Pride, Inc.'s reading lab (December, 1970) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
Built for Youth, by Youth
Pride was the model for Barry’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), established in 1979. SYEP, which continues today, is fondly remembered by longtime residents as giving many their first work experience.
Inside the Pride, Inc. Reading Lab, 1970
Barry and his third wife Effi Slaughter Barry with the newborn Marion Christopher Barry (June 1980) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
'A New Day in Washington'
Barry with Effi Slaughter Barry and their newborn son, Marion Christopher Barry, 1980
Barry on horseback outside the White House (1981) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
'Don't take this stuff so serious'
Barry on horseback promoting the White House to promote the National Invitational Black Rodeo, 1981
Barry and student at Garnett Patterson Middle School (1994) by Nancy Shia Photograph Collection © Nancy ShiaDC Public Library
'You just wanted him to be proud of you'
D.C.’s love for its Mayor-for-Life persists at least in part because, for a great number of Washingtonians, Barry’s impact was personal.
Barry with student at Garnett Patterson Middle School, 1994
Marion Barry remains a hero to many proud Washingtonians. Some, however, see his story as a stain on the city's reputation that it has yet to overcome. Constantly in the spotlight, Barry's personal and public life were fraught with drama. As the crack epidemic of the 1980s devastated the city and D.C. was branded the “nation’s murder capital,” stories of Barry's repeated "rise and fall" captivated the city, and a notorious scandal in 1990 made national news.
“White people thought, finally we got him, he’s guilty. Black people thought he was set up.”
—Jonetta Rose Barras, journalist
Photograph of a hand-made 'Impeach. Mayor. Barry. Now!' sign posted publicly. (1979) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
Hero or Scoundrel?
From the beginning of his political career, Barry was a polarizing figure.
Impeach Barry sign, 1979
Political Cartoon, "Mayoral Race in Washington DC" (May 1990) by Herbert L. Block Collection, Courtesy of the Library of CongressDC Public Library
'He had his demons'
In a notorious 1990 FBI sting, Barry was caught buying and using crack. Surveillance video of the sting was released to the press, placing D.C. and Barry at the center of a national scandal.
Herblock cartoon, 1990
Marion Barry emerging from court (1990) by Photograph by Darrow Montgomery for the Washington City Paper © Darrow MontgomeryDC Public Library
Flawed, Like Us
As the crack epidemic of the 1980s devastated the city and D.C. was branded the “nation’s murder capital,” Barry’s own struggle with addiction damaged his ability to govern.
Barry emerging from court, 1990
"Barry's Baack & Best for '90" poster (1990) by Washingtoniana Ephemera CollectionDC Public Library
'I’ve come out of prison better, not bitter.'
In 1992, with the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C.," Barry won a seat on the D.C. Council representing Ward 8, taking 70% of the vote. In 1994, Barry was elected Mayor for the fourth time.
'Barry's Baack' Campaign Poster, 1990
Barry being sworn into office by Judge Eugene Hamilton (January 1995) by Gift of Cora Masters BarryDC Public Library
'We registered 20,000 new voters'
Judge Eugene Hamilton swears in Marion Barry for his fourth mayoral term as Cora Masters Barry, Maya Angelou, Dave Clarke, Polly Shackleton, and others look on, 1995.
Process photo: oral history interview with Ronald Moten and Anwan "Big G" Glover (2020) by DC Public LibraryDC Public Library
Dig Deeper: Marion Barry
The items in this exhibit are just a few of the materials documenting Marion Barry’s life and career in the Library’s collections. The Library continues to build this collection. Make an appointment at The People's Archive to access more of this material.
Chuck Hicks visiting the Marion Barry exhibit (2021) by DC Public LibraryDC Public Library
There's more Barry to see!
Visit the MLK Library, connect and be inspired.
Chuck Hicks visiting the Marion Barry exhibit, DC Public Library, 2021
Learn more about the the local activists and the issues that Dr. King cared about in the Library's new permanent exhibit, Up from the People: Protest and Change in D.C., on view at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.
You can also learn more in these online exhibits:
A Revolution of Values
A Library Named for Dr. King
D.C. Wins Home Rule
Everybody's Got a Right to Live: The Poor People's Campaign
D.C. & King: The Story Behind the Films
Special thanks to the following contributors:
Cora Masters Barry
Kymone Freeman, WeAct Radio
Dana Flor, whose documentary film,The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, can checked out at your local library, or streamed with your library card.
This exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the DC Public Library Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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