Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry Jr. has died, as confirmed by his family, in a Washington hospital. He was 78. Details inside….
At age 78, former mayor of the District of Columbia and current Ward 8 councilmember Marion S. Barry, Jr. died today, according to reports. Hospital spokeswoman Natalie Williams confirmed Mr. Barry checked in at the United Medical Center in Washington around 12:30am and died at 1:46am.
No cause for Mr. Barry’s death was given, but over the years, the politician suffered from many health complications such as diabetes, prostate cancer and kidney ailments. He leaves behind his wife Cora Masters Barry and his only child, Marion Christopher Barry.
Mr. Barry’s family issued a statement, which reads:
It is with deep regret that the family of former Four-time D.C. Mayor, and Ward 8 City Councilman, Marion S. Barry, Jr., announces that he has passed.
Mr. Barry transitioned at approximately 12 midnight on November 23, 2014, at the United Medical Center, after having been released from Howard University Hospital on Saturday, November 22, 2014.
Mr. Barry released his autobiography “Mayor For Life, the Incredible Story of Marion Barry, Jr.” in June 2014.
He will appear on OPRAH today at 9:00 p.m. EST to discuss his book, and 40 year political and civil rights career.
He leaves behind his wife, Mrs. Cora Masters Barry and his only child, son Marion Christopher Barry.
We ask that you please respect the family’s privacy at this time.
Further details will be forthcoming.
Marion Barry was the son of a sharecropper who grew up to become the most powerful and influential local politician in his generation. He served three terms as mayor of the District of Columbia up until he was arrested for drug charges and sent to jail to serve a six-month sentence.
But that didn’t stop him. He used the experience to his political advantage and came BACK to win a fourth term as the city’s chief executive.
Mr. Barry (who also served on the D.C. Council for 15 years and had been president of the city’s old Board of Education) created programs that helped provide summer jobs for the youth, food to feed senior citizens and his home-buying assistance programs worked to help working-class citizens buy their own home. Not only that, he also put thousands of African-Americans in middle and upper-level management positions in the city government, which in previous years, were reserved for whites.
“He was so in tune with the common person that he could make you feel as if you’d had a long term relationship, even if you’d only just met him for five minutes,” said his attorney and longtime friend Frederick D. Cooke Jr. in an interview earlier this year.
We're sad to hear someone who fought hard for the African-American community is no longer with us. Our condolences go out to the family and may he rest in peace.
Photo: Getty
