Marion Christopher Barry facts for kids

Marion Christopher Barry (June 17, 1980 – August 14, 2016) was an American construction company owner and the son of Marion Barry, the two-time Mayor of the District of Columbia and long-term district councilmember. After the death of his father, he was an unsuccessful candidate for his father's Ward 8 council seat in 2015.

Early life

Marion Christopher Barry was born in June 1980 to Marion Barry and Barry's third wife, Effi Slaughter Barry. He was their only child. His father had wanted to name him Marion Barry III, but Effi was strongly opposed, and they decided to give him the middle name Christopher instead. For most of his adult life, Barry went by his middle name, Christopher.

He attended both public and private elementary schools in the District of Columbia, Ben W. Murch Elementary and St. Albans School for Boys. He was pulled from St. Albans' after teasing by his classmates about his father's problems with women. After his parents divorced in 1993, he lived with his mother and attended Jefferson Junior High in Washington, DC. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and briefly attended the University of the District of Columbia. He also attended Hampton University.

In 2015, Barry described his relationship with his father being "more like brothers than father and son."

Barry formed a noteworthy construction business, Efficiency Contractors LLC, which he named in honor of his mother.

Legal problems

Assault charges

Marion S. Barry died of cardiac arrest on November 23, 2014, at the age of 78. At his father's memorial service, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Barry memorialized his father and referred to his sometimes difficult relationship with him. He introduced Louis Farrakhan, who in turn blessed the younger Barry. "What a joy to hear his son speak the way his father spoke," Farrakhan said.

On January 13, 2015, Barry attempted to withdraw $20,000 from an account at PNC Bank. A teller declined to process the withdrawal because Barry's account was overdrawn by $2,000. Barry allegedly threatened the bank teller, saying, "I'm going to have someone waiting for you when you get off", and destroyed a surveillance camera. Barry was charged with assault, threat of assault, and destruction of property.

Barry pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was ordered to stay away from the bank and the teller. Barry apologized to his followers on Twitter. Prosecutors offered Barry a plea agreement under which the simple assault charge would be dropped if Barry were to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charges of threats and destruction of property and receive up to 360 days of jail time. Barry did not accept the plea offer.

Ultimately, a plea agreement was reached under which Barry pleaded guilty to all three counts and was given a 270-day suspended sentence and 12 months of probation.

Barry continued to blame the bank teller, while pointing to his political legacy and grief over his father's death for the bank incident. "You have people sometimes that take advantage of their positions. I just think that when she sees the name 'Marion Barry,' she for some reason doesn't like me." Thinking back to the event, Barry said, "I don't think I had realized how much I was still mourning."

Political campaign

After his father's death, Barry started referring to himself by his given first name, Marion. On January 5, 2015, Barry announced that he would run for the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 8, which his father's death had made vacant. He appeared on the ballot as "Marion C. Barry", and was endorsed by former mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown and former District Council Member Jim Graham.

In the special election held April 28, 2015, Barry came in sixth place with eight percent of the vote.

Death

Barry died in the early morning hours of August 14, 2016. He was found unconscious by his girlfriend and was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:11 am. He was 36 years old.