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But I think Marion Barry was also a frequent critic of the Williams/Fenty policy approach of offering incentives to the upper class in order to relocate to the city at the expense of DC government assistance to the poor and working class.
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Originally Posted by JEB77
I met Marion Barry about 30 years ago. He had agreed to speak to a group of primarily young white lawyers working at downtown law firms. One of the first things he did was ask how many were living in DC and to encourage those who lived outside the city to move to the District. He was not anti-white or against "gentrification," to the extent it meant improving DC properties and neighborhoods. There was probably as much idealism at that time about the city's future as has ever existed.
Things changed, and both DC and Barry had their rough times, particularly in the early 90s, but anyone with a long-term perspective knows he was both a historical and complex figure. RIP.
More importantly, they regard him highly despite the fact that DC was a pretty crappy city for just about all of his tenure as mayor. Im not certain he is highly regarded for any reason other than being the first black mayor of DC and serving for so long and the mostly black population legitimately saw him as one of them.
Every city in America was in decline during the 80's and 90's.
You think NYC, LA, or Chicago was any better?!
The crack epidemic (orchestrated by the US government) turned cities into warzones and minorities suffered the most, turning their neighborhoods into New Jack City.
Who cares about his personal failings (ie. the crack episode.) He also had many professional failings, including being censured by his own City Council colleagues for being corrupt. That his constituents could care less about this morally indefensible attitude towards honesty and integrity says alot about him, and his constituents. We shouldn't gloss over these things simply because he did a few good things as well. There's plenty of good and bad things to remember about Marion Barry. To celebrate the good at the expense of the bad is a not-so-veiled attempt to squash any meaningful debate about his legacy.
Who cares about his personal failings (ie. the crack episode.) He also had many professional failings, including being censured by his own City Council colleagues for being corrupt. That his constituents could care less about this morally indefensible attitude towards honesty and integrity says alot about him, and his constituents. We shouldn't gloss over these things simply because he did a few good things as well. There's plenty of good and bad things to remember about Marion Barry. To celebrate the good at the expense of the bad is a not-so-veiled attempt to squash any meaningful debate about his legacy.
To celebrate the good at the expense of the bad is a not-so-veiled attempt to squash any meaningful debate about his legacy.
Indeed. There is a difference between respecting the dead, which could still include polite criticism, and whitewashing someone's past just because they recently passed away.
RIP to the Mayor for Life. He did a lot of good for the city and I am glad that I had the chance to speak to him just about 2 weeks ago. He did not look well, but I had no idea he had so little time left.
Marion Barry was one of the greatest mayors, politicians, and civil rights leaders this country has ever known. It is a fact that historically and institutionally, our great country has engaged in deliberate efforts to marginalize great black men. That is not just my opinion - it is a fact. Some misguided people attempt to marginalize Marion Barry by playing the "corruption" card. It is also a fact that the United States government spent well over $10 million (in 1980 and 1990 dollars) in an effort to pin some kind of corruption charge on him. No corruption was ever found in all the years of his political campaigning. That is a fact.
Marion Barry's phenomenal work in revitalizing D.C. and leaving a legacy of balanced budgets is unparalleled by city mayors during that time period. His work with Jeffrey Cohen, Oliver Carr, and many others (all white, by the way) in redeveloping Pennsylvania Avenue, Adams Morgan, the Convention Center, Ward 8, and many DC neighborhoods was without precedent. He spearheaded the funding of the DC metro subway system largely with private funds. He had great relations with Jack Kent Cooke to keep the Redskins in D.C. He gave unemployed black youth summer jobs. He fed the hungry and housed the homeless. Indeed, his tireless efforts helped revitalize the entire DC metropolitan area.
Unfortunately, he was victimized in the crack cocaine entrapment operation by the FBI because they could get nothing else on him. Any lawyer will tell you it was entrapment because they used his former girlfriend to encourage him to smoke the pipe when he declined to do so, on tape, twice. Why was this sting operation perpetrated against him at a time when it was well known that U.S. Congressmen were openly having sex with their pages who were below the age of 16? If you want to paint someone with the brush of "corruption," why not spend time talking about the actual cases of corruption that were proven? Two months ago there was a historic corruption trial involving the governor of Virginia and I don't hear a peep about that from the naysayers on this site.
Have an ounce of decency. Pay respects to the man and his life at this time. The petty little criticisms that you have of him can wait until he is at least laid to rest.
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