In Memoriam
Marion Barry, iconic political figure, dead at 78
Marion Barry, the longtime mayor of Washington, DC who had a remarkable political comeback after a 1990 FBI sting videotaped him smoking crack cocaine, died early Sunday
Marion Barry, the longtime mayor of Washington, DC who had a remarkable political comeback after a 1990 FBI sting videotaped him smoking crack cocaine, died early Sunday. He was 78.
Marion Barry death details
The D.C. City Council issued a statement confirming Barry’s death.
Barry’s family said the former mayor died shortly after midnight Sunday at the United Medical Center, after having been released from Howard University Hospital the previous day.
No cause of death was immediately released, but spokeswoman LaToya Foster said Barry collapsed outside his home.
Barry had battled kidney problems stemming from diabetes and high blood pressure and underwent a kidney transplant in February 2009.
Political career
He was one of the most powerful politician figures in his generation, despite personal ups and downs.
Barry who is most known as the former Mayor of Washington, D.C., also served on the D.C. Council for 15 years and had been president of the city’s old Board of Education.
“He dominated the city’s political landscape in the final quarter of the 20th century. There was a time when his critics, in sarcasm but not entirely in jest, called him “Mayor for Life.” Into the first dozen years of the new millennium, he remained a highly visible player on the city’s political stage, but by then on the periphery, no longer at the center.”
But in 1990 something would shake up his political career. Marion Barry was arrested on drug charges in a sting by the FBI and D.C. police after having been lured to a Washington hotel room by a woman with whom he’d previously had a relationship with.
Read More on the Washington Post
Discover more from Unheard Voices Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
-
Crime & Justice2 days ago
Black couple survives alleged racist attack, car crash in rural Virginia
-
Crime & Justice4 days ago
Florida teen arrested after allegedly killing parents
-
Crime & Justice6 days ago
Maryland woman sentenced to 50 years after her young niece and nephew’s remains found in trunk
-
Black And Missing18 hours ago
Body of missing North Carolina teen Giovanni Pelletier found in Florida retention pond, family confirms
-
Social Justice1 week ago
Black utility worker accuses Florida couple of threatening him with lynching
-
Education2 weeks ago
North Carolina college sophomore launches GoFundMe amid tuition crisis
-
Community2 weeks ago
Georgia community mourns sudden death of 15-year-old athlete Mikah King
-
New Jersey2 weeks ago
Hundreds gather in Long Branch, New Jersey to advance unified Black agenda