A statue of Marion Barry will be unveiled on Pennsylvania Avenue on March 3rd, 2018. It will be one of only three statues honoring an African-American in the District. Cora Masters-Barry and statue sculptor Steven Weitzman visit the set with the details.
Here are a few highlights in his dedicated service to the people.
In 1960 received his master’s degree in chemistry from Fisk University. His passion for the Civil Rights Movement kept him from completing his doctorate. Instead, Barry’s efforts went into the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); he served as its first national chairman.
In 1967, Barry co-founded Pride, Inc., a jobs program for unemployed black men.
In 1977 Hanafi Muslims took over the District Building and Barry was shot during the incident.
He launched his Summer Youth Employment Program in 1979 that that gave tens of thousands of DC kids their first job, and it’s still alive now.
And helped launch the careers of some that would become titans in industry including Bob Johnson of BET and Don Peebles, founder and CEO of the Peebles Corp, the largest African-American-owned commercial real estate developer in the world. And many others that would become leaders in their fields.
