A mural paying homage to the life and career of Marion Barry, the legendary former mayor of Washington, D.C., will be unveiled on Saturday, Nov. 23, in the nation’s capital.
According to Barry’s widow, Cora Masters Barry, the mural will be in the lobby of the Marion Barry, Jr. Building, located at 441 4th Street, formerly known as One Judiciary Square.
She spoke to the news outlets WTOP and WUSA9 about the meaning and significance of the mural that speaks to the many indelible contributions the former mayor and councilman made to the community that far eclipsed his oversensationalized missteps.
“The reason it’s taking place is, we know that Marion has a great following in the District of Columbia and then, there are many people who don’t know about him, many new people in the city who say, ‘What’s this Marion Barry about?’” she told WTOP.
There is a sector of society that Masters Barry says knows “about the sensationalism of his perceived drug problem, which, of course, we know in today’s world, is pretty much understood as not a crime, but an illness,” she explained.
Masters Barry enumerated some of the feats Marion Barry accomplished during his tenure as a public servant.
“We wouldn’t have a Capital One Arena if Marion Barry and Abe Polin didn’t get together. Marion insisted upon having that arena placed in that place, and that is why we have that whole renovation of that area,” she revealed, adding that Barry’s summer jobs program launched thousands of careers for young people in D.C.
“If I go to the grocery store, somebody is going to say, ‘I got my first job from Marion Barry,’” she said. “So his legacy is deep in this community, but it is not well known by the new people who have come here, or some of the people who were there before, but didn’t understand the business of it.”
