Three months after Marion Barry‘s death, the District government is getting around to honoring him permanently.
This morning, Muriel Bowser laid out the make-up of an eleven-member city commission that will decide what to name after the mayor-for-life. Among them: an ex-mayor, a former city administrator, an ex-councilmember, a current councilmember, a minority small business operator, and a member of Barry’s family.
While Bowser didn’t float any names of her committee members, there aren’t a lot of options for some of them. For example, only one of four people alive are eligible for the ex-mayor slot.
Bowser’s commission has the unappetizing task of sorting through competing proposals to honor Barry. LL just got a Freedom of Information Act request that included a couple of ideas pitched by mourners after Barry’s death. They include renaming Mississippi Ave. SE after Barry, since wife Cora Masters Barry‘s tennis center is located on the street; and putting his name on the Department of Employment Services’ Minnesota Ave. NE.
One group is pushing a petition to rename H St.’s NW and NE, along with Benning Road, after Barry. At-large councilmember Vincent Orange wants Barry’s name added to the University of the District of Columbia, despite the idea of naming a school after Barry also being a joke in Jon Lovitz a movie.
Correction: This post originally misstated the location of Cora Masters Barry’s tennis center. It’s located on Mississippi Ave. SE.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery