The Last of the Black Emperors: The Hollow Comeback of Marion Barry in the New Age of Black Leaders

by Barras, Jonetta Rose

• ISBN13: 9780963124661
• ISBN10: 0963124668
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-06-01
• Publisher: Bancroft Pr

Summary

In The Last of the Black Emperors, author Jonetta Rose Barras explains the many paradoxes of Marion Barry's career, and documents the growth of his racial and political identities parallel with those of his largely black constituency. Barras places the D.C. mayor in context, comparing him with politicians - black and non-black - of his generation, and with "the new black leaders" who have rendered his style obsolete. Focusing on the period from Barry's 1992 prison release, through his 1994 mayoral victory, and the subsequent erosion of his influence in the nation's capital, Barras's study traces the uneven trajectory of a wily, controversial, but captivating personality.

Table of Contents

Chronology
PART ONE: The Sinner Becomes Savior	1	(96)
photos	94-95	(1)
PART TWO: In The Tradition	97	(42)
photos	134-137	(3)
PART THREE: "Let's All Say Amen" or The End of An Era	139	(124)
photos	260-261	(1)
PART FOUR: And the Emperor Had No Clothes	263	(18)
photos	274-279	(5)
CODA: Free At Last	281	(15)
Acknowledgements	296	(1)
Endnotes	297	(7)
Source Notes	304	(1)
Selected Bibliography	305	(2)
Index	307