jim and sarah because of our son jeff, who, 17 years after jim was shot, experienced a different kind of brain injury. sarah and jim were among the first people to reach out to us and every time we would see them the first thing they would ask about was jeffrey. and second to sarah, when i think about jim's life and the funny and fun loving couple you were, i see the seeds of the extraordinary bond that gave you the strength to be there with him for all those years. there are so many unheralded people who give much of themselves to take care of a lot of one. you embody the very best of who they are and what they do. jim could not have lived like he did without you. it is a privilege to know you. thank you. >> it was great to hear from the journalists about their relationship with jim. one of the advantages to having this many press secretaries

>> it was great to hear from the journalists about their relationship with jim. one of the advantages to having this many press secretaries together is that they agreed to hold a background briefing to go over some of the planning reports in detail. there has been allusions to a glass of water to. i hope the document proves us to be conservative

estimates. everyone has made reference here today about jim and sarah's work when it comes to gun safety and gun violence. our next two speakers are people who have lived in the trenches on this issue over the last two decades and have made a difference in a terribly difficult and divisive issue. dan gross is the president of the brady campaign to prevent gun violence. before that, he started the center to prevent youth violence and has devoted much of his life to the cause. gail hoffman, who many of you know, was central to putting this event together, has been at this since the late 1980's with handgun control, was the point person for all of us in the clinton administration to getting the brady bill done at the justice department. i think both of them can reflect on the incredible work and incredible accomplishments

of jim and sarah brady when it comes to making this country safer. >> mr. vice president, sarah scott, missy, friends and family of jim brady across the country, it is a privilege to be here and it is my privilege to lead the organization that bears jim and sarah brady cost name, the campaign center to prevent gun violence. it has been my greater honor and privilege to know jim brady, to call him my friend and in a way, he was even my brother. every time i saw jim was precious to me. either through words of wisdom or a joke, or that twinkle that i swear never left his eyes, even when he could no longer

see, jim had a way of turning even a brief encounter into a lifetime memory. but as i was preparing these remarks, the one memory that stood out the most was the very last time i saw jim. it was extra special because i brought my two children to meet him for the first time, this man that had been so much to me and had such a profound influence on our life, my life on our nation. as we were introducing our kids to jim, sarah, who had already met them, told jim that my daughter played tennis. then there it was, jim last that mischievous grin as he playfully launched into a story about when sarah took up tennis and how she was more concerned about her fancy outfit than she was with the sport itself. he also mentioned how great she looked in that out it. but the most special moment

came as we were saying goodbye as we were walking out after a long visit. jim had to be tired. he called out to my daughter and in his slurred speech, he said, good luck with your tennis. those were the last words i ever heard jim brady say and i don't think they could've been more fitting. that was the jim who really cared about you. that was the jim who really cared about all of us, even if they were suffering more than he wanted you to know, that was the jim cared about people. and i believe that is why jim and sarah brady are the embodiment of the gun violence prevention movement, the greatest champions we have ever seen or the safer nation that we all want. because jim brady really cared about all of us. jim brady really loved this nation. when it comes down to it, i believe there are three things

that jim brady's remarkable life tells us about gun violence in america. first is the toll of gun violence. 30,000 americans killed every year, about one million lives lost jim was shot. the statistics are staggering, but what the story really tells us is the impact of just one of those bullets can have, just one. that one bullet took jim's physical strength, cause profound lifelong health issues, put his loving wife sarah in the role of a lifelong caregiver, rob a brilliant and remarkably popular young press secretary of his career. my brother, too, was shot in the head and survived. like jim, my brother has worked remarkably. as i said, in a way, jim was my brother. every year, hundreds of thousands of more americans are introduced into our same tragic

brotherhood and sisterhood, a family no one ever wants to join, all in an instant, in the same way, one bullet. two, jim's story taught us about the importance of stronger, sensible gun laws. jim and share a -- sarah showed our nation why we need a background check before we buy a gun, which jim's shooter was never subject to. jim and sarah did not stop until they push through one of the most important public safety laws in this nations history, the brady handgun prevention violence act which i stopped over 2 million gun sales to dangerous people and has prevented countless more from even trying. as we heard, when the corporate gun lobby argued that background checks were too inconvenient for gun buyers, jim, in his inimitable way responded, i guess i am paying for their inconvenience. sarah is fighting with us

still. third and most importantly, jim brady teaches us about the strength of the human spirit. how victims can not only survive but thrive. how each of us can make a difference and how anyone of us truly can change this country and the world. i believe that jim and sarah brady have saved more lives than almost any citizens in our nations's history, and that is not hyperbole. there are literally millions of americans who will never notice of ring of gun violence because of jim brady, and he did it without the trappings of power or wealth, a man that suffered a great injustice, who was robbed of so much, but refuse to be paralyzed by bitterness or hopelessness. jim brady was a great man and a

good man who changed the world in profound and extraordinary ways. there will never be another jim brady. but that must not stop us from carrying on the fight that was so important to him. jim, we will follow in your example. thank you, jim brady. can't bless you. and as he would want me to finish, thumbs up. >> first i want to thank joe lockhart for all the work he has done to make this event, celebrating jim's life, so very special. and thank you all for joining in this wonderful sendoff for the bear. it was a tremendous privilege

for me to work with and become so close to jim. for many years, the bradys have been like family to me. it is also a tremendous privilege for me to introduce our next speaker who jim adored. vice president biden and jim brady enjoyed a very long history together. before jim was white house press secretary, he served as an aide to senator bill roth of delaware, back when joe biden was senator biden. neither could know then how much they would subsequently do together to alter the course of history and ultimately saved so many lives by getting the brady bill passed. during the effort to pass the brady bill, we relied heavily on senator biden, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, to help shepherd the bill through the senate. he was always there for us, as was his tremendously dedicated

staff. we were in constant communication and we knew that joe biden always had our back. later, when jim and sarah moved to rehobeth beach, delaware, they became constituents of senator biden and the strong bond between the bradys and the bidens endured. the bear and the vice president have a lot in common. speaking truths and telling it like it is. when jim first testified before the senate judiciary committee in 1989, he not only talked about what it was like to be in his wheels, but he said there were too many cowardly lion's walking the halls of congress. you bet there were. our next speaker was never one of them. in fact, he was and is a courageous public servant dedicated to the cause of

making us all safer and doing what is right. vice president biden has been there for jim and sarah from the very beginning and immediately after we lost our bear, vice president biden was there within the hour for sarah with an outpouring of love, and as always, offering to do anything and everything he could. there was never a question as to who could best honor jim's memory and legacy at an event like this. jim and sarah's longtime friend joe biden was the obvious person who could best speed to jim's public and private life. it is my great honor to introduce to you the bear's good friend and our vice president of the united states joe biden.

>> my name is joe biden. i don't like twitter either. oh for the good old days. my staff asked me whether i wanted a teleprompter, al. as the president said at one of the gridiron dinners, he said, i am learning to speak without a teleprompter, joe is learning to speak with one. i don't think jim would have ever put me on a teleprompter. folks, i only take one issue with what has gone on so far this morning. when the clergy stood here and recited those irish blessings, as the grandson of ambrose finnegan, i don't think any of those irish blessings were ones that jim would have been attached to.

the one that i think he probably liked the most was the one that my grandfather ambrose finnegan used to use. he would say, may those who love us love us, and those who don't, may god turn their ankles so we see them coming by their limp. that, to me, is a brady-ology. i don't know. all of these faux irish people out here, i don't know. my mother had an expression, and it was real. she would say, joe, remember, you will be defined by your courage and redeemed by your loyalty. i cannot think of a better phrase to describe jim brady. jim was a national figure but we in delaware. before he went

-- thought before he went to president reagan or governor connally, that he was delaware's property. i am told that jane roth may be here. judge, how are you? one of the best judges in the third circuit and a partner of bill roth the whole time. jane, i remember -- does remember when jim was bills mr. secretary -- press secretary. the thing that would startle you is that we like each other. for 30 years, without exception, there was never one time where a harsh word or public criticism of the other the entire time. that perplexed and when he

first came. jim and sarah got me in trouble with my then young children. jim had always had bill doing something really exotic. i will never forget the time that they were doing the kemp-roth bill. jim gott bill on top of that elephant. remember he was riding that elephant? my daughter looks at me and says, daddy, why can't you be like senator roth? gail, thank you for that introduction. scott and missy, i know -- i'm sure you appreciate all the love that your father engendered but i know it is hard to sit here and -- i know it is hard for you, sarah. we talked backstage. no matter whether it has been a week thomas a month, 20 years, 30 years -- when moments of the morrill come along, they are

appreciated, but they create that ache. there is, in ireland, a tombstone that reads, death leaves a heartache that no one can heal, but love leaves a memory that no one can steal. this is both a reminder of the heartache and love, and i admire you, and the heart of all the bidens goes out to you. the poet rg ingersoll said when the world defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scores to

compromise death, this is heroism. jim brady was heroic. it was all the things that everybody said, but to me, jim brady was simply heroic. life dealt him a really cruel blow, but the interesting thing about jim was, in the 30 years since that time, is that jim never compromised. jim was never ever defeated. he said back in 1986, you have got to persevere, keep a sense of humor. he said they could not she got away. and they never did. but he did not just persevere,

he triumphed. and he did it with such dignity and grace and fierce determination. he turned tragedy in action. we always talk about that, you are either made better or worse but you never stay the same after some god thing happens to you. but what is interesting about jim is he turned it all into action. he not only reached out to survivors of gun violence, but he reached out to the disabled with a message of encouragement and hope on the road to recovery. and the reason why it mattered so much to them, and you could see it in their eyes, is because they knew that he knew that he understood, and he literally helped heal, and he gave hope. when you are in jim's position it takes a hell of a lot to focus on someone else's pain.

a hell of a lot to spend the energy and time to communicate to other people that have gone through something like you have gone through, to stand up, to fight. and, sarah, i think it was al who said it. yours was a great love affair. we have all been around long enough to know when we see couples who are still couples, but every once in a while, you see a couple and you can tell it is still a love affair. it is not just they have grown used to each other, not just that they love each other, it is a love affair. that is a remarkable thing.

what an incredible gift you gave to one another. what a model for your kids to know that that is how it was. you know, i don't ever remember, sarah, seeing jim without you after the assassination attempt. but, you know, the interesting thing to me is through a whole lot of pains taking effort and all of the frustration that you felt, the thing that is missing right now in washington, you are able to generate consensus and bring people together. i watched, when we wrote the biden crime bill that contained the brady bill, the assault weapons ban, the other things, and i would watch how you would both import to my colleagues in

the hallway. they were scared to death to walk by you. if they saw you, it was like oh, god, what am i going to do? it was a pleasure watching jim work them, and i mean work them, and you standing there just so nice and forceful. none of the brady bill, despite all the help that you got from public office, all of it would not have mattered -- it was the one-on-one, bipartisan consensus that you pulled off. it was pretty incredible.

i think the most remarkable thing about jim was that -- i cannot say the day that he died because i had not seen him for two months before that. the same remarkable man the day that he died that he was when i met him over almost 37, 38 years ago. as the old saying goes, there are two things you have to know about jim brady. one was that he was tougher than you, and two, that he was smarter than you. those were helpful going in. he had an incredible mind, but the thing that i loved about him most is he seemed more driven by his heart, as much by his heart as his mind.

as i said, he never let up. he understood that it was really necessary to get important rings done, to question the judgment of other people. but the thing that he never did which is done today, is he never questioned motive. the question judgment. when you question someone's motive, it is often hard to make that switch and then come with you. he never did that. he always left room for people to come around. as i said, he never let up. jim truly lived every moment that he was alive, even at the end. i remember talking to him once. a guy that he knew well too was ted kaufman, my administrative assistant, became u.s. senator. i was telling him once, ted, i saw a picture of jim with the pope. ted told me that there was a quote from pope john paul about going quietly into the night

adjusting to age, excepting god's will, etc. and i told jim, ted sent me this quote. i told him what i sent back to ted. i send back when dylan thomas wrote. do not go gently into that good night. old age said -- should burn and rage of the closing day. rage, rage against the dying light. that is the thing i loved about the son of a gun. he raged against the dying light. never out of anger, but such incredible passion, born out of love. he cared too much to leave the fight to others, not even when

he knew there was so much to do. the bullet of that would be assassin robbed him of so many of his faculties, as so many other victims of gun violence no, but it did not rob him of his voice. more than 11,000 men and women in this country still need his voice because, every year, they fall victim of homicide, and they cannot speak for themselves. but to end his life with every breath that he took, he spoke for them and hundreds of thousands of others. because he knows we had no choice -- he knew we had no choice but to speak for those who were lost. the voice that spoke or a president, senator, the

disabled, victims of gun violence everywhere, now speaks no more, but i think jim finally has some peace. i think he is waiting for you guys. there is a poem i love called the lake of the industry. i will arise and go down to industry and i shall have some peace there. four piece comes dripping slow dripping from the veils of the morning to where the crickets sing. there, and midnight is all the glimmer in new is a purple glow and the evening is full of linton weeks. i will arise and go now for always, night and day, i hear lake water lapping down by the shore. while i stand on the roadway

pavement gray, i hear it, that the deep heart score. i think he is waiting for you, i think he is waiting for those in this fight or so long with him, but most of all, his family. if my dad were here, scott and missy, he would probably look at you guys and say, you have good blood. you have good blood. it is my hope that we may all eventually, not in the too distant future, live up to the legacy and standard of jim, and finally get done what he worked so very hard to do. we have convinced the american people the last time out with a proposal i put forward through the president. the fight used to be, can you fit -- convince the american

people? 75% of the american people agree with us. what we need is another jim brady who has the skill and the ability to convince those who are afraid to walk the halls of congress to step up and do what they know is right. one will come along. it will happen. i pray that it is sooner rather than later. sarah, god bless you, dear. to the kids, take care of one another, as i know you will. one thing is for sure, you know your father is looking down and wondering why the hell i talked so long. thank you all very much, god bless. national captioning institute]

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>> marion barry was brilliant. he had learned 180 chemical equations that he shared with his son christopher on several occasions and could still

recite them in these late years of his life. the bible says that a tree is known by the fruit that it bears. christopher barry exudes with the ebulions of his father and we are going to hear -- i was asked to sit with him as he prepared what he was going to say. after i listened i said christopher i don't need to say anything but just say what you just told me. and it will be the greatest tribute that you could ever give to your father. brothers and sisters, i want you to stand on your feet and receive marion christopher barry. who in turn after he speaks

will introduce the honorable minister louse fair can. first i give honor to god the planner and doer of all things. his plan there is no imperfection and no faults and no mistakes. i want to thank the community i want to thank everybody who has been praying for our family. everybody who has lifted us up in prayer. i can truly feel the prayer and it has empowered me and i feel the embracement.

i want to thank personally my step mother. without her i don't think her vision and her round the clock planning in the community none of this could have been pulled off in the manner that it was the detail and pagentry and just the wide range of supporters that are here. first i want to speak on the man marion barry. many of us knew him in a lot of different capacities. some of you knew him the community activist. some of you knew the politician , some of you just knew marion barry as a friend. today i want to speak on the side of marion barry i knew. just as being his son.

the first side is the teacher and the chemist. i remember many nights when i was in the seventh grade and struggling with chemistry he would sit me down. he knew the periodic table like the back of his hand. i'm not talking about the chemist in the classroom sense. i'm talking about the chemist and the formulas that he used for his leadership and why he was such an effective leader. in chemistry you have elements and when you combine them together they create a compound. he had some compounds for the way he handled his business. you take courage and determination you can accomplish any goals. if you take one part faith and

one part prayer you can protect yourself from any harm. if you find yourself in short of resources and feel like you can't get something done and you're short on money and resources all you need is unity and have your people behind you and you can get anything dope. the second side of marion barry i wanted to talk about was marion barry the gardner. not that he had a green thumb where he planted plants or flowers or anything. i mean the gardner in the theatrical sense. he was a man that what does a gardner do? sees a burned strip of land. he tills the soil, he chases the snakes away, he removes the bugs he removes the weeds. so you have a fertile soil. then what do you do? you plant seeds.

and you water and make sure it gets the proper sun light and nourishment and he planted seeds in people's lives and planted hope in people that didn't have hope. and you planted seeds in the city. he grew instilled value in people's hearts but he also grew physical things. he saw a barren lot in the ware houses and parking lot and he created this building we're standing in now the convention center. he grew the verizon center. he's responsible for the reviolet lation of anacostia. he's the one that laid that foundation of planting those seeds. then i want to talk about marion barry the father. i remember i was 13 and he took me to his hometown in mississippi and through the delta he took me to clarksdale and greenwood mississippi,

where with jim crow the headquarters of jim crow and white supremacy and oppression for our people. and i got a chance to see what a real cotton field looked like and what a shot gun house looked like and to see those people living on the bottom and what did it take to come from a place like this and rise to greatness. he said, you know, the man of the left of you is weak and the man on the right of you is weak i'm weak. you have to lift your brothers with you. u you can't feel like you're better than the next man because money and power can be stripped from you. but if you are stripped of your people -- you have unity, you can carry on. i've carried that with me and that was the one of the things that always stuck with me. and it was times that when a father loved his people, loved

the city and time to feel like he always had the time to spend with me as a father. with you but but one thing that taught me is a love -- that love is a force that always recycles. the love that he passed on to others when there were times that he wasn't there it was other people that embrassed me. so i had an extended family all over the city. so i never felt his absence because i always felt his love through others event if it wasn't directly through him. so -- in saying that, by that love he gave it's not a person in this city or a corner of this city that he hasn't touched. and marion pairry will never die because he's taught us how to stand up as black men. he taught us how to live with

each other. and his spirit will never die. so as long as we take the things he taught us and the values - they say d.c. will never be the same because marry barry is gone. but there are thousands of marion barries out here. so he will never die. he is importal now. i just want to say that i have lost my father but i always had my spiritual father. in 1991 at the old convention center on ninth street, when he was going through his trial and a lot of friends abandoned him. that was the first time i met minister fair can. that empowered me and left the biggest impression on me because i knew i had seen his friends leaf him, business people leave him. but i had an arm of black

soldiers behind me. i just wanted to let you know that. that always meant the world to me. and you embrace, more than you all being black leaders, i knew that was his brother and you were his friends. it's just only appropriate that on this day i am able to introduce the minister and bring him on. i just want to thank everyone and i want to introduce louse fair can. [applause]

>> in the name of ala the mag niffsent, the merciful, i bear witness that there is but one god and all of the prophets of god are from that one god and all of this scriptures that we read are from that one god and every human being that we see and that we don't see has come into existence because of that same one god. to sister cora masters barry

to marion christopher barry to all of the brothers and sisters reverend wilson and all those who made these four days possible from the depth of my heart i thank you for putting together a program that rightfully honors marion barry and his legacy. a life ends the legacy begins. what a joy to hear his son

speak the way his son spoke. in deed, the legacy has begun. i am honored beyond words to be here today to celebrate the life of our brother our champion our mayor. but not just a local figgier. but a man whose work was both national and international. [applause] i was introduced to mayor bayry by my esteement brother the

reverend jesse jackson and i found in mayor barry a brother a companion in struggle a man who loved god and loved the people of god and loved humanity as a whole and sometimes my dear christopher dad wasn't always there. because some of us that come in to this life are born for a higher purpose than just to work for our families and our vanities.

but to work for a people and to work for humanity. such a man was marion barry. i was here in washington when my brother went through his great trial. and a reporter from one of the washington newspapers came to me with a question. but before she asked her question she was building me up as some moral giant, somebody who was married and had a good life and didn't use drugs. and what do you think, she said, of a man who broke his

marital vows and used drugs and -- i said who are you talking about? john fits gerald kennedy? that ended the press conference . it is not right or moral to speak of the dead in an unkind

way. i only raise that for those who like to talk about our deficiencies while they tie the wickedness of their own leaders that have been over us and over the world. nobody has this life without commiting sin.

and when i said nobody i mean nobody. the pope the cardinals the bishops, the imams the mullas, the president, the potent tate, nobody comes this way without commiting sin. i am a sinner. and if i did not commit sins i would not need the mercy, the ben eff since, the forgiveness of god.

so the holy koran says if ala were to punish for his sins not one soul would be left alive on the earth. so will the holy ones please stand up. um and i'm going to sit down. this is no time for grief and sadness. this is a time for joy and gladness and thanksgiving for

the life that god sent our way that made life better for those many people in this city in the south, in the north. the million man mar ch could never have happened in any other city at any other time but washington, d.c. in the time of mayor marion barry. his wife and all of this team that came together to put on this program with reverend willie wilson and dr. dorothy

hiden and so many we call for one million men and 2 -- nearly 2 million showed up in this city. mayor barry was a principle helper in that effort. 25,000 orphans found a home after that mar ch. 1.3 million new voters came on the voter rolls after that march. dare lict fathers and husbands went back to their wives and families and tried to make a new start. but in this world when you do

good for the masses you are not loved by those who suck the blood of the masses to maintain their wealth, influence, and power. i'm going to close now. in this audience of the elders of the children of israel i love your singing. your spirit. you prove that you are the people of god worthy for us to live for and worthy for us to

give our lives for. the young people are rising all over america because somebody saw some seeds out there that are germinating. the bible says cast your bread upon the waters, and after many days you'll see it coming back to you. thank you reverend jackson. thank you dr. king. thank you malcolm x. thank you elijah mohammed. thank you for all of those who went before us. because we could not be where we are if it were not for those who went before us! it is on the shoulders of

yesterday that has today. so to the elders don't e get tired. don't get we'rey. don't think about retiring. a lion, as long as it has teeth does not retire. a lion will continue to hunt until death overtakes it. there's a lion asleep in judea. who will wake him?

pewsycat cannot arise lion. it takes lions who roar to awaken a lion that has been trained to think he's a pussycat. now martin king on the last night of his life, and i have to say this as a follower of the honorable elijah mohammed, i grew to love dr. king more in death than i ever appreciated him in life. and it is a grave injustice to

narrow that man's life down to some cheap words, i have a dream. they did not kill our brother because he had a dream! they killed him because he was on an evolutionary path of growth and development and if you hear the final words that he spoke, you would know why they assassinated him. but he said i'm not -- that's our problem. we are fearing men. that's what chokes us when we meet the adversary.

we talk with garbled speech because we want to win friends rather than tell the truth that justice may come. i'm not fearing any man. i have been to the mountain top. i have looked over and i have seen not the promised sky, not a false promise of nearness to our oppressor and a little money. he said i have seen the promised land.

i may not get there with you but we as a people will get to the promised land. now elders, the elders of israel didn't get to the promised land because they were afraid of some giants. mayor barry challenged forces. he was not a coward. and cowards should not speak his name. so when the elders wouldn't go in because some giants were there god said i'll let them die in the wilderness and i will take their children and they will inhabit the promised land.

our children are rising today and they don't see giants. i wonder why. there's a man in the scrip sure as i close named jesus. some man came to jesus and said how do you see men? he said i see them as tree. jesus knew the man wasn't being right so he put some spittles on his eye and then asked the man how do you see men now? and the man said i see them as they are. there are no giants here that cannot be conquered in the name of god. there's no mountain too high

that we can not climb in the name of god. if that legacy of that great man is to continue, and it will, then let's rise up from this hallowed ground and go back to work on the struggle for freedom, justice and equality. thank you for these few moments. [cheers and applause] >> let me take a moment and acknowledge the great service

that was rendered on last evening by bishop staples and the good people would you give bishop stables -- great service on last evening. thank you for those encouraging and inspiring words. we're now going to hear from our dear beloved sister who represents us in the congress. she worked with marion barry nonviolent coordinating committee. she has been a soldier for justice and rye and has served the district for a number of years has done such a great job

it's automatic when it comes down to her to take her place again on the congress as a seat. please receive and welcome congresswoman norton as she comes. come on d.c. >> thank you reverend wilson. members of congress, all of you who have served have had the privilege of serving as mayors of the district of columbia, as members of the city council of the district of columbia, public officials from all over the country and the world.

reverend clergy, friends of marion barry jr. all. i offer my love and condolences yet again to my good friend correia barry and to christopher. i have been asked to speak about marion barry, whom i first met when we were both in the student nonviolent coordinating committee, or snic. in speaking about marion, a son of the civil rights movement, i speak not only for myself today i speak in memory of some who knew and worked with marion but have passed on. for others of his movement

colleague who wanted to be here today but could not and for still others who are here. if role of those who first worked with marion in the movement is much too long to call my friends. but among them are and were john lewis, frank smith, joyce and dorry lotter in, bob moses ruby faye robinson, diane nash, james foreman, donaldson gloria richardson and the reverend jesse jackson who will deliver the eulogy here today.

all of us knew marion barry when he was being formed as a man by the civil rights movements. years later, when marion and i had different roles i used to tease him on the dance floor about bringing those cotton chopping moves to the big city as marion did what he called dancing. he laughed, knowing that this was my way as a d.c. girl from upsouth of saying to my own old friend from the southern movement, you have come a long way buddy. from picking cotton in

mississippi to running the nation's capitol. but those cotton picking roots served marion barry jr. well. he challenged poverty by working himself out of it. coming from the cotton fields of mississippi he said i was used to hard work, it doesn't bother me. that's what he wrote in his autobiography. but it was the civil rights movement that equipped marion to challenge seggre investigation and prepared him to become our mayor. if you want to understand marion

barry, don't start with his years as mayor. go first to the boy who chopped cotton at seven while going to school in a one room schoolhouse. and saw newspapers and rags in memphis. then go to his first years as a man and you will find marion barry in the civil rights mufplgte. for marion it was those beginnings in sharecropping poverty, deep in the bosom of segregated mississippi and tennessee that led him to the civil rights movement. that childhood imbedded in him a

dedication to civil rights and to the poor throughout his years as mayor and as ward a council member. as a child he saw sharecropping buy the black people to the plantation economy and make any attempt to go a life threatening act. i had no choice but to join the civil rights movement, he said. the injustice of segregation was all around me. marion barry as a boy knew only segregation. marion barry as a man groomed himself to challenge segregation. he had used his fine line and

attention for hard work to right his own ticket into the professional class. but marion gave up his chemistry graduate school fellowship, along with his p.h.d., although he had finished all course work except for the thesis. for marion could not resist the call of the movement. he moved from chemistry classes to james lawson's nonviolent resistance workshops and to leadership along with diane nash in the nashville sit ins. to raleigh where he became the first chair of the student nonviolent coordinating committee. and to the mississippi movement and the work of the mississippi freedom democratic party. during those years marion not

only steeped himself in nonviolent resistance but in active strategic organizations. what marion learned about organizationing in the deep south held him in good stead for the rest of his life. he brought community organizing to the district of columbia and organized his way into the leadership of this city. a man can choose to escape and forget childhood poverty, and nearly reminisce about his early years in the movement. instead, marion joins his childhood poverty with his life

changing years in the civil rights movement. to form his own world view. whatever espn you may take from marion barry's life, we must recognize the roots that shaped him. today, we rejoice that the civil rights movement brought him to the next, or is it the last, frontier for civil rights. people will choose their own part of marion barry's life to remember. but here in the district of columbia here amongst those of

us who still struggle for state hood let us always celebrate marion barry jr. freedom fighter! [cheers and applause] ♪

>> good evening. [cheers and applause] >> for those of you that know me they know that i'm not shy. i'm not a person that's ever lost for words and i certainly just like marion, i ain't scared. but this has been overwhelming, and everything that has been said, you know, there's nothing left to say except to you that marion was my dear friend.

we've known each other since 1970. he was my partner. i knew him in a way that every time i listen all i can think about is one thing, the essence of him. that he was not fake. that everything he did big he did little. every big thing he did for people he did little things for people. he was a person who felt passion every day of his life. he was a person that loved his people. he loved his people. he was a person who took great pride in helping people get up.

not the big stories you hear, but the little stories you hear. i stopped letting him go to the gas station because he would spend all of his money, not on the gas, but the people. giving the people who were asking for money. i stopped letting him go to the grocery store because we couldn't get out of the grocery store. i don't like the grocery store, so i want to go in want to get out. where you been, how many children you got, how old are you, where you live, what church you go to, who your people? this is him every single day. and the most important thing i want to say to you about my husband was that as complicated as he was, he was a very simple man. none of the trappings of anything that he was exposed to from all over the world affected him to the extent that testifies

embarrassing. when i was first lady and he was mayor and we would get on the plane in first class and i'd look over there and marion would actually have a super market bag, a little plastic bag with his stuff in it. now back at the house was a leather, you know, gold embossed case, why do you have a grocery bag with your stuff? oh, that don't make no difference. yes it does! it just does. that's what i used to say to him, that's some mississippi stuff. and then the last thing you need to know is that his heart was so pure that he had the forgiveness of jesus christ. he really did. people do terrible things to him, not only would he forgive them because you know we always said we're going to forgive but

we don't forget. marion forgot. he would forget it, it would not even stay in his mind. that was my job. mayor, why you talking to him? that was the person that just oh he did? huh? so he was a pure heart. he was a man after god's own heart. he was our david, and he was my husband and he was christopher's father and thank you so much for honoring him. [cheers and applause] >> good afternoon. i am pleased to be here with my esteemed predecessor.

and also with the mayor of newark, new jersey. on behalf of the 660,000 people who live in the district of columbia, i want to once again extend as others have done our deepest sympathies to them, and to marion christopher barry who spoke so eloquently when he was up there. while marion is now absent in body i think we know that he is all fully present in his spirit in this place today, isn't he ladies and gentlemen? [cheers and applause]

though he is no longer with us, we also know how much he contributed to the growth and to the government of his beloved district of columbia. there are so many marion barry stories. so many instances in which the mayor changed someone's life or opened the door of opportunity for a person or for a community. like many other i choose too remember marion barry by remembering his life long commitment to building up our city and working to free from congressionally imposed shackles the servitude to which we were relegated here in the district

of columbia. marion's own story is replete with witnessing injustices here and around the country. he knew well the daunting height of the barriers of advancement and success faced by african-americans in this nation. he was especially gifted at gettingdown people involved and creating a new future for themselves and for all of us. when marion barry came to washington in 1965, he saw a city that in many ways was every bit as segregated as the mississippi of his childhood. he found a majority of black city that was ruled not by it residents but by a congress in which residents had no voting

voice, and he also learned that congress had delegated oversite of this city to his most conservative white southern members. marion barry had found a place where he would make his mark. first as an activist for better relations with police and better job opportunities for african-americans in the city. he steppedup to the plate as a servant leader, because there was work to be done. he got elected to the board of education, and then after home roll, such as it was, such as it is was approved for the district of columbia he was elected to the first poply elected d.c. council. many of us know in his first term first term as mayor he

achieved some truly remarkable successes. he helped to get the city's chaotic finances under control. he made officers look a lot more like the people of district of columbia __ couldn't we learn a lesson from that today. we all know the black middle class __ city businesses would go to black owned enterprises. and of course, he created a widely acclaimed summer youth employment program.

how many people have you heard say __ i got my first job under marion barry. i knew marion barry for years. there is one anecdote that leaps to mind. he and i talked about often __ it was an example of his true character. some may know i once served as executive director of what was then known as the association for retarded citizens. one of our key goals was to move people from an inhumane institution into canadian living in district of columbia. there was fierce opposition and so many neighborhoods to group homes.

unfortunate support them by some of the worst myths possible. one evening i was with mayor barry in an affluent community where the district was seeking to establish a home. nearly 200 people showed up and practice room for the meeting. billy __ they only had one purpose __ to stop the home from opening. once marion barry completed his presentation, one man rose with questions. when it was clear that his questions and no constructive purpose, mayor barry said, if

you really want to know how this works, i will stay here all night, otherwise, i have nothing else to say to you. that was vintage barry __ standing up for people who were very disadvantage. and by the way, the meeting ended soon thereafter. the home open and was a huge success because marion barry had stood up for a group of people who could not effectively speak for themselves. [applause] many of us do not get to smell the flowers while we're here on earth. in his last year of his life, mayor barry's book was published. he is able to share his story, his thoughts, and his insights with many of us as he appeared

at book signings and interviews on television and radio. those who had never heard of marion barry had the opportunity to learn more about him, and gain insight into the person who was popularly known as "mayor for life" in the district of columbia. [applause] as longtime supporters and newcomers to the barry story swarmed around him, they embraced his journey and worked with him, tto pass the torch of knowledge on to the next generation. marion barry's legacy is intimately woven into the fabric of the district of columbia. he is still alive in so many ways and the district of columbia.

ladies and gentlemen, marion barry will always be alive in the district of columbia. [applause] let me end by saying __ on behalf of those up here, well done mb. we love you, and we appreciate everything you've done in this great city. ♪ >> friend and brother. to my dear sister. christopher, the heart and soul of marion.

former mayors. city council officials. all the youth. we'll make this a glorious sendoff. [applause] if i'm not ready to depart at the time at hand, i find a good fight, i've kept my faith. the lord, the righteous judge. to the lord, the righteous

judge, she'll give __ shall give me that day. that's the blue ribbon, the ticket taking them. there's a song in our tradition that says __ we know that day when the lord shall call your soul away, if you fight, you shall wear a crown. i'm going to wear a crown. when the trumpet sounds. as soon as my feet straight zion. late on my brethren. i'm going tto wear a crown. the crown must have jewels in it. born on a mississippi plantation __ a cotton plantation in 1936.

19 years before the invention __ august 28, 1955 __ rosa parks, montgomery, louisiana. before the little rock nine. august 28, 2008, present obama gave his acceptance speech in denver. august 28, march on washington. mary was born in the ugliness of the deep south __ in the throes of a revolution that reverberates today. how does one sum up the journey as one who went from indignant and disgrace to amazing grace.

i never thought i would live long enough to say good evening to this fellow traveler. i met marion in 1960. we were so certain of victory that the risk we took, going to jail, dogs biting, horses kicking, laughed at by the press, it did not seem to matter. after greensboro, marion became head of sncc. i was in the public library at greenboro. we became friends. the thing is __ death is certain. as mary and i walked about 50 year journey together __ after

his passing, i kept thinking of a baseball analogy. the baseball game has nine innings __ there are hits and areas __ is usually played in the hot sun __ in the big leagues, is always a stiff competition. with the struggle he faced all his life, the u. s. congress and the white house, to change laws __ that is the big leagues of politics. the game is so tough that if you get three heads out of 10 bats, it would take is a hall of fame. babe ruth and richard jackson where the greatest hitters, yet they struck out a lot. when they came to the plate, there always the expectations. you had some, you drop some. you're not judge by the strikeout __ not by the

strikeout __ your judgment about score when it is all over. are you a winner or are you a loser? sometimes the play extra innings. some pitchers only relieve. marion played extra innings. the odds were against him. initiate, you know you have to __ in the heat, you have to take the heat. malcolm x and mr. king were down here for many years __

marion twice as long. he never lost the faith. he went down, way down, but he came up. he knew nothing was too hard for god. " though you slay me, yet i will trust you." he knew the ground was no place for a champion. he did his best. his back was against the wall. he had three options __ he could've chose easy way. remain maladjusted to oppression. walk around with resentment __ he could have become bitter. he chose a third way, resist and run on. he never stopped running. he never stop serving.

athletic __ that's why the people loved him. the lord kept letting him. choosing those who join the all_star team. the scent of the righteous judge __ a fair judge. when i was naked, did you clothe the naked. the real players are they heroes. marion kept getting reelected. he was a hero.

a champion. when champions win, they write __ ride the people shoulders. a freedom fighter. there are a select group of players who volunteer to sacrifice. risk their lives. walk away from adversaries. a freedom fighter that smell the scent of jail cells. gave up pursuing his phd for those who had no d __ their backs were against the walls. a freedom fighter. marion was a tree shaker.

one of the architects of the new sciences. the days of the king gave his address in washington. the minister said, don't just stop thinking about the dream, washington was on military lockdown monday. the troops were on guard at the bus station, the airport. they were stopping and profiling those who they thought were suspicious. we could not use a single public toilet. we couldn't rent a room and holiday in. black soldiers and latinos __ a lot of the money was counterfeited. marion volunteered to be a

soldier for justice. every soldier is a wounded soldier. when the war is over, the unarmed soldier has won the war. he helped to make the south attractive. americans hope to live in the new south. i repeat, no southern governor or center has his or her name on that new south. marion was one of the architects of the new south. little rock nine. greensboro four.

__ these were the people who built the new south. marion barry. freedom fighters. these are but a few of the freedom fighters who sacrifice their services to the new south. no southern governor has his name on that list. that was not enough. marion was a long_distance runner.

yet the will to run, and the __ he had the will to run, and the skill to build. when blacks in d.c. could only live in certain parts of town, blacks in d.c. have never walked with authority, never said a commission __ in d.c. much of southern maryland and northern virginia is about the work of marion barry. man never stop fighting for d.c. statehood. 600,000 people live in occupation. we have to get the budget passed by congress. may never stop exposing the

contributions __ from cuba to china, to russia. d.c. pays the highest taxes. our children are sent to jail more often than those in most states. we serve and believe in the military. he never fought small battles. healy __ he always had big dreams. marion was a builder. he had contacts __ a builder. he was never that eloquent __ remember, moses had a severant tongue.

other freedom fighters became mayors. marion was a freedom fighter and a long_distance runner. you can get across the line with a resume. marion came across the line with people in it. lifting up the seats of the poor and those whose back from a wall. he was a hero. he got his scars from scars. some make the team but never come on the field. those on the field have grass stains and blood on the uniforms. no one ever hit a home run or

scored a touchdown from the bench. if you play football come you get tackled over and over again. marion died in office serving, he never is __ stopped fighting back. when you get the most jobs to those who deadlocked before, that is a dual. you give a contract to those who have been denied, that is a jewel. he embraced african culture without shame, that is a jewel. he visited the most hospitals, he visited the most jails, that is a jewel. a crown full of jewels. but some say, he went to jail.

but so did joseph. jail can be a place to figure out another way. i have no friends, it is night __ sometimes you fight in night. i see a new heaven, and new earth. well, marion, you have a crowned full of jewels. you are still leading. we will be right behind you. we know the righteous judge will welcome you now. no more pain. curtis and does __ criticism does not matter now. you can now reconnect with many of your friends that many of us never got to meet.

give a hug to your friend who made you cry. tell a friend and we miss him in the marches. tell hilda that we are still work in statehood. say hello to many others. tell your friend and we miss her so much. we all right behind them. it is not over. tell them parasites shooting us, choking us to death.

tell them we have a brother in the white house, but they call him names. tell them we have a standup attorney general. tell them we have made progress, but is getting me down here. tell them the jails overcrowded. the resurrection trayvon martin, michael brown, eric garner __ tell them we're not giving up. tell them we are fighting back. tell them bank to rally the people, not people running the banks. but tell them there's a new generation. people are fighting back. tell them there a are young rappers, young preachers.

people holding up a hand saying, don't shoot. justice now. by the way, tell them we celebrate mrs. parks birthday this week. say hello to mandela who just got to heaven this year. you fed the most, serve the most, they will see your crwon. tell them christopher has a business now. the songwriter said it best when he said __ when you get the best of your service, they will say well done. you will never stop speaking poor people talk. tell them you fought the good

fight. tell them it is dark, but the morning will come. tell them there is power in the blood. tell them that if when you give the best of your service __ telling the world that the savior has come, be not dismayed when people do not believe you. the righteous judge will say well done. hung on the cross, he was god's only son. if when you fail, try. tell them your hands are sore. tell them, pick up your cross. love you marion.

i will sing my faith. god will say well done. god bless you, marion. i will see you in the morning. love you marion. >> tonight c_span two features books by former president richard nixon. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> new year's day on the c_span networks. here are some of our featured programs __

for a complete schedule, go to c_span.org. >> today on c_span, "washington journal" is next. at 7 pm eastern, a look at "q and a" continues. at 8 pm eastern, former senator majority leader who died this year.

in 45 minutes, look at the affordable care act. new changes the current healthcare coverage in 2015. i guess are julie rovner and margot sanger_katz. ♪ host: good morning, everybody. here are your headlines. center michael graham from new york will now resign after pleading guilty to tax evasion. meanwhile, louisiana republican congressmen acknowledged monday that he spoke at a gathering hosted by white supremacist leaders in 2002 while serving as a state representative. more on the stories in the papers today. but