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Debate rages over renaming Southeast DC road after Marion Barry

More than 140 people signed up to speak about the matter during a virtual hearing. The proposal calls for renaming most of Good Hope Road Southeast.

WASHINGTON — Could D.C.’s “Mayor for Life” finally get a local street named in his honor? The issue stirred up a passionate debate in a DC Council meeting Tuesday.

DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson called a public hearing to discuss a bill, co-introduced by Ward Eight DC Councilmember Trayon White, that would rename Good Hope Road Southeast after Marion Barry.

Barry served four terms as the District’s mayor. He also won a seat on the DC Council several times before his death in 2014.

The topic has been discussed on and off in D.C. for the last three years. If passed, Mendelson said White’s bill could ultimately change the addresses of more than 1,200 residents and businesses along Good Hope Road, in Wards Seven and Eight, in between Martin Luther King Jr. and Alabama avenues.

In Tuesday’s hearing, White said he brought forth the legislation because he had concerns younger generations were forgetting the impact Barry had on the District.

“During the era of significant gentrification here in Washington, D.C., it is important that African-American children see, know, and feel the presence of ‘Mayor for Life’ Marion Barry,” White said.

White added he recently asked a group of more than 100 children if they were aware of Barry’s contributions to D.C. He said only eight children in that group had heard about the former mayor.

“We have to ensure that not only will our youth know their history, but they will know the significance of what they can do,” White said.

More than 140 people signed up as witnesses to participate in the council’s hearing on Tuesday. The overwhelming majority of speakers in the virtual event said Barry, who is often referred to as D.C.’s “Mayor for Life”, should have a road in the District named after him.

“If Marion Barry can’t have a road in our community, there’s a question of where can he have a road?,” said Ward Eight resident Aristotle Theresa. “If he can’t have it now, [then] when?”

In 2019, the Fairlawn Citizens Association expressed opposition to renaming Good Hope Road after Marion Barry.

"Historically it’s been Good Hope Road and we don’t like people coming in and changing it every ten, twenty, thirty years because of somebody they really like," said the citizen’s association’s recording secretary Carol Casperson in 2019.

However, on Tuesday, one Fairlawn leader said he had a change of heart on the issue.

“There is a collective and greater community that we are a part of and with those considerations, I am, as the leader, the President of the Fairlawn Citizens Association respectfully withdrawing our opposition to the renaming of Good Hope Road,” said Fairlawn Citizen’s Association President Graylin Presbury.

District Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Matthew Marcou spoke on behalf of both DDOT and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's office at the hearing.

He said both offices supported the idea too.

"DDOT stands ready to assist the council," Marcou said.

He explained it would take around $4,750 to install the 25 signs needed for the proposed project.

Marcou told Mendelson he was not sure of how a street name change would impact locals' driver's licenses. Still, some locals remain opposed to the idea.

Ward Eight resident Barbara Cooper, who lives in Marbury Plaza on Good Hope Road, said she thinks the District should focus on cleaning up the Southeast thoroughfare instead.

“We’re struggling on Good Hope,” she said. “Now, we got to change everything, our addresses, our IDs, we got people in this building who can barely get out of the building. First, what you all have to focus on is cleaning up the street.”

Carolyn Baker used to live in Anacostia. She said she now owns property in the community. Baker claims there are homes along Good Hope Road that are in disrepair and should receive more attention than the road’s name.

“These resources, time, and energy should be directed toward resolving much bigger, much more important problem,” she said. “Where are the council’s sense of priorities? What has happened to doing the right thing?”

It remains unclear when the DC Council will take action on the proposal.

Mendelson said since the council is about to conclude this year’s session, the bill will have to be re-introduced next year.

“We won’t need to have a second hearing before we proceed with the legislation,” he said.

White originally wanted to have the proposal voted on earlier in Fall 2022. However, Mendelson ultimately decided to pull the bill from a legislative vote because the council does not name streets on an emergency basis unless permanence has already been approved to do so. His office subsequently received a threat about the matter that had to be reported to authorities.

Currently, White’s bill appears to have plenty of support amongst his peers on the Council.

Councilmembers Robert White, Brianne Nadeau, Christina Henderson, Janeese Lewis George, Kenyan McDuffie, Brooke Pinto, and Charles Allen co-introduced the bill with White.

Councilmember Elissa Silverman also co-sponsored the measure.

If Good Hope Road is renamed, it would not be the first honor Barry has received in the District.

In 2020, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser dedicated the One Judiciary Square Building, in Northwest DC, as the “Marion S. Barry Jr. Building”.

Barry also has a statue outside the Wilson Building.

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