Reply to Anyone been here since the 80s / early 90s? How did smart locals react to Marion Barry

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[quote=Anonymous]Local here.  Opinions of him varied dramatically depending on the group.  First off, when Barry rose to power, the middle class whites had fled the District, so the demographics were middle and low class blacks in the formerly-white areas and wealthy white liberals in upper NW.  At first, all groups seemed to love him; he represented black empowerment and engagement in government, and he was extremely charismatic.  He represented liberal ideals, and while the the summer jobs program and handing out turkeys had a minor impact in the grand scheme of things, they instilled the belief in the poor that Marion had their backs.

As the years went on, his support wavered.  First, middle class blacks fled to PG County because of the schools and crime, much like their white counterparts had done 15-20 years earlier.  That left the District with a constituency of poor blacks who were increasingly dependent on DC's bloated and inefficient bureaucracy and social programs, and wealthy white liberals who were loathe to admit that this man, a supposed model of black leadership just after the civil rights movement, could possibly be a failure.  As Barry's indiscretions became national news, poor blacks were generally the most forgiving, as his flaws made him very relatable to many people.

Eventually the mismanagement and national embarrassment he brought to the District made enough people fed up that a Republican, Carol Schwartz, came shockingly close to unseating him as mayor in a city where Republican is a four letter word.  I know many people whose vote for Schwartz was their single Republican vote in their life. [/quote]

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