Many Had Looked Up to Barry

The charismatic and controversial mayor of Washington, D.C., has been arrested on charges of possession of crack cocaine, the addictive drug that is devastating neighborhoods in city after city--including the nation’s capital. That’s why, if the charges are true, Marion Barry is more than just another victim of a national scourge.

Although the federal government claims to have a strong case against the mayor--complete with positive drug tests and a videotape of him allegedly smoking crack--it must not be forgotten that Barry is innocent until proven guilty. Still, in the wake of the charges, Barry has relinquished the day-to-day duties of governance.

He has admitted to unspecified human “weaknesses” and checked into a rehabilitation center for what his press aide has described as treatment for alcoholism. Now humbled, the man who once boasted of being invincible has taken the first step of facing up to his problem and getting the help he says he needs to heal his “body, mind, and soul.”

Fine, but Barry is not the only person who needs healing in the aftermath of this troubling incident. Black youngsters who looked up to him as a hero now hold him in contempt as a hypocrite. They knew Barry well. He came to their tough neighborhoods. He visited their schools. His message was always the same: Don’t do dope. Stay off drugs. Finish school. He knew their battles were hard, but he told them that if he could beat tough odds, they could, too. So much for credibility.

When Barry emerges from rehabilitation he will have to look deep into his heart and decide whether his continuation as mayor is best for a city that has long been wracked by drug violence--and now by a leadership crisis at the top.