Nov. 30, 2014
Mayor Marion Barry - The One and Only!
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Washington, DC lost another giant last week. Mayor Marion Barry lost his battle with a series of illnesses he’d suffered in recent years. Until a few days ago, none of those illnesses stopped him from working for very long. Even when he was hospitalized, his staff knew that the work had to go on.
There is, and never will be, another human being quite like the man who came to be known as “Mayor for Life”. Until the day he died, no matter where he went, people referred to him as Mayor Barry. He led Washington, DC to be recognized as the great city it is today. It’s ironic that the city he led is the capital of the nation and is also looked upon as the number one capital of the world.
For those who want to be honest about the great things Marion did rather than concentrating on the things he did in his personal life, I can tell you about just a few things they could say.
He opened doors of opportunity for so many people. I have a niece who told me she got her first job through the youth summer employment program Mr. Barry established—and thousands could tell you the same thing.
A woman recently told me he helped her to buy her first home, and she couldn’t have done it without his help. Many others could tell that same story.
From his early days in office in the District of Columbia, he hired women in high level positions—positions in which women had not yet served in many cities across the country.
He provided job training for people who needed it. He always had interns in his office and gave them experiences they’ll never forget.
He made it possible for students to have scholarships to attend colleges outside the city if they chose to do so. He held a special place in his heart for senior citizens, and in return, he could always depend upon their support.
Early in his life he was a civil rights worker, and until the end of his life he was fighting for the rights of people who often could not fight for themselves. He fought against poverty, and he had the highest respect for his constituents. I think he knew them all by name—and nobody in the city could deny knowing who he was and what he’d done for them.
It would be impossible to engage in a conversation with people in DC before the conversation turned to how Mayor Barry helped them with something in their lives. He worked tirelessly for Home Rule and Statehood for DC.
I had the honor of working for Mr. Barry as his Legislative Director, later as his Chief of Staff. There was never a dull day. The job was often exasperating, but always worth the effort. It was clear to all who worked for him that we had a responsibility to work for the least of these every day. Just as he worked through his personal challenges while doing good for others, we were expected to do the same.
I never knew most of Mr. Barry’s staff that succeeded us, but I can vouch for Linda Greene, Donna Rouse, LaRuby May and Vaun Cleveland; and I can say nobody worked harder than we did to preserve the legacy those who came before us helped Mr. Barry to establish. While with him, one of my responsibilities was to prepare his remarks. When I read his book, I was happy to see that he ended it with a line from a speech I prepared for him—Still Standing. Though he may no longer walk among us on earth, his memory will stand forever.
(E. Faye Williams is President/CEO of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.www.nationalcongressbw.org.)