When most Americans think of Marion Barry, this is what they see: a grainy FBI videotape showing the mayor of Washington, D.C., in a hotel room smoking a pipeful of crack cocaine. That image, followed by his trial and conviction on a drug charge, turned Barry and the District of Columbia into international symbols for all that was wrong with America's drug-infested cities. It was the kind of scandal that destroys political careers forever.
That was four years ago. On a street corner in northwestern Washington one evening last week, Barry stood on top of a ladder, his arms wrapped around...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
