[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO MARION BARRY, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I stand here before you today to pay 
tribute to a man who has given 40 years of unwavering and committed 
public service, Mayor Marion Barry, Jr. This year marks the end of an 
unprecedented public service career which includes four terms as Mayor 
of Washington, D.C. Born a sharecropper's son in Itta Bena, 
Mississippi, Marion Barry has truly risen and triumphed over many 
obstacles in his life. He will take a well-deserved rest this year from 
an astonishing public service record. However, he will always be 
remembered as a mover, shaker and innovator in the hearts of the people 
of Washington, D.C.
  Mayor Barry's launch into public service was spirited by his long 
term commitment to the civil rights movement. In 1960, Mayor Barry and 
a group of concerned students from throughout the United States formed 
the Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee (SNCC) in order to take 
a moral stand against the forces of prejudice and segregation in the 
south. SNCC chose Marion as its first national chairman, and he moved 
to the District of Columbia in 1965 as their director and the rest is 
history.
  In 1971, Mayor Barry was elected to the D.C. Board of Education and 
served as Board President for three years. In 1974, he was elected to 
hold an at-large-city council seat on the city's first elected council 
after more than a century of non representations. As a member of the 
council, he chaired the Committee on Finance and Revenue which gave him 
a deep understanding for the first needs of his city. In 1978, against 
two strong opponents and with unshakable enthusiasm, he was elected 
Mayor of the District of Columbia, a seat to which he was elected Mayor 
of the District of Columbia, a seat to which he was overwhelmingly 
returned twice more throughout the 1980's.
  As Mayor of Washington, D.C., he was an imaginative and visionary 
leader who accomplished many things. Among them was the institution of 
a jobs program for city youth which became a nationwide model and lead 
to the founding of the Mayor Barry, Jr. Youth Leadership Institute. He 
also developed housing for low to moderate income families, established 
day care centers for government employees with children, and encouraged 
the advancement of business throughout the city.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a series of planned events across Washington, 
D.C. to pay tribute to Mayor Barry, the Mayor, the Man, the Legend. I 
am proud to be a part of this effort and I wish him the best in his 
future endeavors.

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