Didn't know the part about the city hall shootout...
From USA Today --
Marion Barry Jr., a fiery civil rights activist who rose to prominence as a mayor of Washington, D.C., only to fall in disgrace when he was arrested for smoking crack cocaine, died early Sunday morning. He was 78 years old.
His death was announced in a statement released by the family.
No cause of death was given, but Barry had been in and out of the hospital for the last year. He had a history of health problems that included a battle with prostate cancer in the 1990s, a kidney transplant in 2009 and a decades-long struggle with diabetes. He'd even survived a bullet wound in a City Hall shootout in 1978.
His spokeswoman, LaToya Foster, said he collapsed outside his home, the Associated Press reported.
The proclaimed "mayor for life" had been a popular leader and one of D.C.'s most influential and controversial politicians for almost 50 years.
In a statement released early Sunday morning, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray expressed his "deep sadness" after learning of Barry's passing...
...Barry, celebrated as the first civil rights-era leader to head a major American city, became infamous in 1990 after his arrest on charges of possession of cocaine. He was arrested for smoking crack cocaine in a room at the Vista International Hotel in Washington with a female friend of the mayor, who worked as an informant for the FBI and D.C. police.
The arrest was caught on video and audio tape in one of the first political sting episodes of its kind.
Barry was heard on the tape saying, "B**** set me up," a phrase that became a punch line for late-night comedians. He served six months in federal prison...
From USA Today --
Marion Barry Jr., a fiery civil rights activist who rose to prominence as a mayor of Washington, D.C., only to fall in disgrace when he was arrested for smoking crack cocaine, died early Sunday morning. He was 78 years old.
His death was announced in a statement released by the family.
No cause of death was given, but Barry had been in and out of the hospital for the last year. He had a history of health problems that included a battle with prostate cancer in the 1990s, a kidney transplant in 2009 and a decades-long struggle with diabetes. He'd even survived a bullet wound in a City Hall shootout in 1978.
His spokeswoman, LaToya Foster, said he collapsed outside his home, the Associated Press reported.
The proclaimed "mayor for life" had been a popular leader and one of D.C.'s most influential and controversial politicians for almost 50 years.
In a statement released early Sunday morning, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray expressed his "deep sadness" after learning of Barry's passing...
...Barry, celebrated as the first civil rights-era leader to head a major American city, became infamous in 1990 after his arrest on charges of possession of cocaine. He was arrested for smoking crack cocaine in a room at the Vista International Hotel in Washington with a female friend of the mayor, who worked as an informant for the FBI and D.C. police.
The arrest was caught on video and audio tape in one of the first political sting episodes of its kind.
Barry was heard on the tape saying, "B**** set me up," a phrase that became a punch line for late-night comedians. He served six months in federal prison...
