While Barry was loved by the D.C.’s Black community and was a star to the poor and working classes, he was also subject to immense criticism.
During his tenure, D.C. still had high crime and unemployment rates, poor test scores, high dropout rates, high infant mortality and other problems.
FBI agent and Washington lawyer Carl T. Rowan Jr. wrote a scathing critique of Barry: “Patronage, in the guise of local ‘empowerment,’ has always been the hallmark of Barry’s governing philosophy,” Rowan wrote.
However, Barry felt he’d done a reasonable job serving the city. “I’ve had … more homers, more doubles, more triples than I’ve had strikeouts. More ups than downs,” Barry said.
