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| Statesman MARION BARRY - Washington, DC |
March 6, 1936-November 23, 2014 (78 YEARS)
"Marion was born a sharecropper's son, came of age during the Civil Rights movement and became a fixture in D.C. politics for decades," President Barack Obama said. "As a leader with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Marion helped to advance the cause of civil rights for all. During his decades in elected office in D.C., he put in place historic programs to lift working people out of poverty, expand opportunity and begin to make real the promise of home rule."
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As a youth, he would excel in his learning. Mr. Barry graduated from high school a member of the National Honor Society in 1954. He entered LeMoyne College in Memphis, TN where he pledged Alpha Phi Alpha, played basketball and became involved in student government. Mr. Barry joined the civil rights movement organizing, leading and speaking at demonstrations in Memphis, TN. In 1960, Mr. Barry led an effort to desegregate buses and public libraries. He would be arrested for loitering but never deterred. His commitment would take him back to Mississippi to orchestrate several voter registration drives. Mr. Barry graduated from Fisk University with a Masters in organic chemistry.
In Nashville, TN, Mr. Barry would become part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s efforts to organize black students in the south. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed and Marion Barry would serve as its first chairman. Mr. Barry would additionally serve SNCC as an organizer and fundraiser for the Friends of SNCC. He would move to Washington, D.C. in 1965.
Happy Trails.
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