The Nine Lives of Marion Barry

Former Mayor, Marion Barry

Love him or hate him, he is who he is. He's loved by some and hated by others, but such is life. He has been called a “philandering drug-addled mayor,” “a folk hero,” “a poster boy for corruption,” and “a civil rights champion and defender of the poor.” And the truth is, he’s a collage of all these attributes. That’s what The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, a documentary by filmmakers Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer on the DC politician with the same name that was screened at American University's School of Communications yesterday showed. Below is some of what attendees shared at the event.

The documentary which highlights the good, the bad and the ugly of DC’s charming former mayor, Marion Barry, includes only one of his four wives, Effi Slaughter saying, "Marion is a man and power is a very seductive mistress." The documentary showed who he was and is, and how he keeps getting back up after knocking himself down like a cat with nine lives.

The nine lives description is fitting for Barry because the myth attributed to cats is based on the natural suppleness and swiftness cats exhibit to escape life-threatening situations, including the fact that falling cats often land on their feet, using an instinctive righting reflex to twist their bodies around and Barry has shown that on some level, he has mastered the art of reemerging, which has given him commendable staying power in DC politics.

What is amazing is that there were a lot of negatives about him, but he kept getting reelected into office because he is an amazing character with plenty of charm and charisma. Part of the DC dynamic that gave him so much power is that DC was not a unionized city and even if they had unions, they had a no strike law, so they were like dogs without teeth left without any real power and DC also has the taxation without representation issue, so the mayor is a very important leader in DC.

I had seen Barry at Ben's Chili bowl, but my relationship with him was peripheral. He was a civil rights activist before he was elected into office and in January of 1979; he became mayor, gave people jobs and contracts, and they loved him for it. Previously all white DC construction sites became multi-ethnic and DC residents voted for him loyally because many saw him as their only opportunity to excel and they continued re-electing him hoping he would conquer his demons and return to the person he was when he initially took office.  Like any smart politician he knew how to appeal to his audience by dressing appropriately. When he was east of the Anacostia, he wore a Dashiki. When he was west, he wore a suit and tie. Charisma and loyalty got him re-elected because he gave people jobs and a sense of self-empowerment, but I became disenchanted with him.

Although people in other places or states didn't know about him till he became famous for the hotel room incident in January 1990, when he was caught on video by the FBI smoking crack cocaine with a lady at the Vista Hotel, during which he uttered the infamous words, "The bitch set me up," which ended his political tenure, he has had issues with drug abuse,  was caught for having oral sex in jail, and when he got out of jail some people gathered together and bought him a Lincoln car, which he said was stolen, but it was later found that he had sold it. However, DC voters still love him. Maybe because he is a flawed individual like we all are to some degree, albeit not as high as he is.  As he himself shared at his victory celebration, “I may not be perfect, but I am perfect for Washington.

He did create jobs and got people hired in DC, but he himself became a problem and in 1996 he declared the city unworkable.  There a dichotomy in Marion’s character that’s caused him all these problems. He's charming and gets to the top and he blows it. Power is an aphrodisiac and Marion is like a character in a Greek tragedy. He has a common touch that people love. He can walk equally comfortably in the streets of South East DC and in the halls of Congress, but once the demons took over, it was downhill for him. Even though Anthony Williams became the mayor after him, he was not as beloved as Barry. People complained that Williams didn't interact with local residents enough like Marion did and they didn’t even want him to anyway because they’d rather have Barry.

At a time having a powerful mayor was still a new phenomenon for DC residents, so Barry filled a huge void and he brought the city together at a time as a politically alive and unified city. He empowered people who were disempowered for example with Pride Inc. and east of the Anacostia he let them know that no one was going to ride in on a golden chariot and do things for them. He inspired them to be enterprising, have determination and self-actualize to realize their full potential.

Every politician is challenged while in office, but he was the template of what an African American political leader could've been. However, his lasting legacy will be one of disappointment at his failed potential because power, womanizing, ego and drugs were the perfect storm that led to his downfall. People should look at his negatives and positives while remembering that we are all imperfect humans.

The event was moderated by John Douglass, an Associate Professor & Russell Williams, a Distinguished Artist in Residence, both of American University. The documentary which airs on MPT on Tuesday November 1^st, 8PM, November 2^nd at 12.01 Am & 3:30 AM; Nov 6 at 4:30 PM and MPT2: Saturday, Nov 12^th at 9:30PM is a chronology of his successes and challenges as he still remains an active member of DC, the most powerful city in the world's political scene.

For more on Marion Barry visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Barry