Obama Honors The Late Marion Barry

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks to the media about Ebola before leaving the White House en route to Wisconsin, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The president sai... President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks to the media about Ebola before leaving the White House en route to Wisconsin, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The president said the US can't be seen as shying away from battle against Ebola. Obama did not directly criticize quarantine policies for returning health care workers implemented in New York and New Jersey. But he says the response to Ebola needs to be sensible and "based on science," while supporting health care workers going overseas to fight the disease. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) MORE LESS
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President Obama expressed his condolences to the family of Marion Barry, the former mayor of Washington, D.C., who passed away Sunday.

The president said he was sad to hear that Barry had died and honored the former mayor for his commitment to civil rights and the poor.

“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. As a leader with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Marion helped 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,” Obama said in a Sunday statement.

“Through a storied, at times tumultuous life and career, he earned the love and respect of countless Washingtonians, and Michelle and I extend our deepest sympathies to Marion’s family, friends and constituents today.”

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