What's Wrong with D.C.'s Marion Barry?
By Heidi M. Pascual
Washington, D.C. Councilman Marion Barry is in the media spotlight nowadays for his xenophobic remarks,
singling out Asian American businesses and Filipino nurses, in separate occasions recently.
On April 3, after winning the city Council Ward 8 primary, the former District of Columbia mayor Marion Barry referred
to “dirty” Asian-owned businesses and demanded that “they ought to go.”
A video posted by WRC-TV/NBC4 showed Barry saying, “We got to do something about these Asians coming in
and opening up businesses and dirty shops.” Barry added “I’m going to say that right now. But we need African-
American business people to be able to take their places, too.”
I for one, do not like “dirty” shops either, but to make a sweeping statement targeting Asian Americans that come in
and start their businesses, and then to do something to let them go even if he just meant the "dirty" shop owners…
that’s just a racist remark, plain and simple. I had once worked in the Washington, D.C. area for almost a year,
and there were some "dirty" shops that were not Asian-owned at all! It is important to penalize businesses that
don't adhere to basic Department of Health rules, but it is definitely rude and illegal to simply oust them out.
Then, Barry just couldn’t stop his mouth expressing his dislike of Asians and Asian Americans. On April 23, at a
local hearing regarding the University of District Columbia, he attacked the hiring of Filipino nurses in American
hospitals. He expressed how bad he felt that immigrant health care workers are dominating the field. He was
quoted as saying,"In fact, it's so bad, that if you go to the hospital now, you find a number of immigrants who are
nurses, particularly from the Philippines.”
Okay, Barry prefers that the University of District Columbia grow its own teachers, grow its own nurses, “so that we
don't have to be scrounging around in our community clinics and other kinds of places -- having to hire people from
somewhere else."
Reacting very strongly against this latest tirade, the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. posted this on their
website:
“The remarks of District of Columbia Councilmember Marion Barry criticizing local hospitals for hiring Filipino
nurses are deplorable. This is not the first time such intolerant and narrow-minded comments came from him. Just
three weeks ago, he made the prejudiced observation that Asian-owned businesses were “dirty shops.”
“From its silent beginnings, the Philippine nursing profession grew to become a major player in the global
healthcare market when it became the biggest supplier of registered nurses due to the global nursing shortage.
Filipino nurses are known to be competent, hardworking, caring, and possess good work ethic. These are some of
the reasons why most patients prefer and trust them. Like many good citizens, they pay their taxes and contribute to
the American economy.
“Councilmember Barry’s penchant for blaming Asians, who only want to work for their American dream, fuels
racism, discrimination, and violence. Such rhetoric does nothing but harm relations among community members,
when the times call for developing relationships and finding solutions to common challenges. He owes Filipino
nurses an apology for his recent tirade.”
I think Barry’s inflammatory messaging is stereotypically casting Asians in America as perpetual foreigners. Let’s
not forget that anti-Asian sentiments with often unfounded economic context have fueled grave and violent crimes in
the past, e.g., the 1871 massacre of Chinese immigrants in California; the 1992 civil unrest in L.A.; and the 1982
murder of Vincent Chin.
As an elected public official, Barry should exhibit a respectful stance toward his multi-ethnic constituency. His
remarks indicate his difficulty at expressing a conduct commensurate with his political role. He is what I would call
a politically wrong and misplaced person.
This society is not just for Blacks and Whites, I want to remind him. This country is an immigrant society, and no
matter where one comes from, is irrelevant. While the reasons our ancestors came over here were different, their
descendants – all of us – are “together” making up a united America. It's all up to us to make everyone feel
accepted and respected in our country
I salute all Asian American organizations and other organizations of color and advocates that are actively engaged
to address this issue head-on. Barry should realize that African Americans, in general, are not racists nor
xenophobic like him.
Washington, D.C. Councilman Marion Barry is in the media spotlight nowadays for his xenophobic remarks,
singling out Asian American businesses and Filipino nurses, in separate occasions recently.
On April 3, after winning the city Council Ward 8 primary, the former District of Columbia mayor Marion Barry referred
to “dirty” Asian-owned businesses and demanded that “they ought to go.”
A video posted by WRC-TV/NBC4 showed Barry saying, “We got to do something about these Asians coming in
and opening up businesses and dirty shops.” Barry added “I’m going to say that right now. But we need African-
American business people to be able to take their places, too.”
I for one, do not like “dirty” shops either, but to make a sweeping statement targeting Asian Americans that come in
and start their businesses, and then to do something to let them go even if he just meant the "dirty" shop owners…
that’s just a racist remark, plain and simple. I had once worked in the Washington, D.C. area for almost a year,
and there were some "dirty" shops that were not Asian-owned at all! It is important to penalize businesses that
don't adhere to basic Department of Health rules, but it is definitely rude and illegal to simply oust them out.
Then, Barry just couldn’t stop his mouth expressing his dislike of Asians and Asian Americans. On April 23, at a
local hearing regarding the University of District Columbia, he attacked the hiring of Filipino nurses in American
hospitals. He expressed how bad he felt that immigrant health care workers are dominating the field. He was
quoted as saying,"In fact, it's so bad, that if you go to the hospital now, you find a number of immigrants who are
nurses, particularly from the Philippines.”
Okay, Barry prefers that the University of District Columbia grow its own teachers, grow its own nurses, “so that we
don't have to be scrounging around in our community clinics and other kinds of places -- having to hire people from
somewhere else."
Reacting very strongly against this latest tirade, the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. posted this on their
website:
“The remarks of District of Columbia Councilmember Marion Barry criticizing local hospitals for hiring Filipino
nurses are deplorable. This is not the first time such intolerant and narrow-minded comments came from him. Just
three weeks ago, he made the prejudiced observation that Asian-owned businesses were “dirty shops.”
“From its silent beginnings, the Philippine nursing profession grew to become a major player in the global
healthcare market when it became the biggest supplier of registered nurses due to the global nursing shortage.
Filipino nurses are known to be competent, hardworking, caring, and possess good work ethic. These are some of
the reasons why most patients prefer and trust them. Like many good citizens, they pay their taxes and contribute to
the American economy.
“Councilmember Barry’s penchant for blaming Asians, who only want to work for their American dream, fuels
racism, discrimination, and violence. Such rhetoric does nothing but harm relations among community members,
when the times call for developing relationships and finding solutions to common challenges. He owes Filipino
nurses an apology for his recent tirade.”
I think Barry’s inflammatory messaging is stereotypically casting Asians in America as perpetual foreigners. Let’s
not forget that anti-Asian sentiments with often unfounded economic context have fueled grave and violent crimes in
the past, e.g., the 1871 massacre of Chinese immigrants in California; the 1992 civil unrest in L.A.; and the 1982
murder of Vincent Chin.
As an elected public official, Barry should exhibit a respectful stance toward his multi-ethnic constituency. His
remarks indicate his difficulty at expressing a conduct commensurate with his political role. He is what I would call
a politically wrong and misplaced person.
This society is not just for Blacks and Whites, I want to remind him. This country is an immigrant society, and no
matter where one comes from, is irrelevant. While the reasons our ancestors came over here were different, their
descendants – all of us – are “together” making up a united America. It's all up to us to make everyone feel
accepted and respected in our country
I salute all Asian American organizations and other organizations of color and advocates that are actively engaged
to address this issue head-on. Barry should realize that African Americans, in general, are not racists nor
xenophobic like him.