Blackness No More

‘I want to be accepted for the content of my character, not the color of my skin,” says Carol Schwartz, borrowing Martin Luther King’s famous utterance at the apogee of the civil-rights movement. Mrs. Schwartz, a white Republican, is running for mayor of Washington, D.C., against black eight-year incumbent Marion Barry, in a heavily black Democratic town.

Local and national political pros here are intrigued by the race because, while Mrs. Schwartz is not expected to win, she is picking up surprising support. The reason: She has been an able and respected D.C. council member, while Barry has been surrounded by corruption and incompetence. A reported federal-grand-jury investigation into his expense accounts, the conviction of his former top assistant and best friend for embezzling some $200,-000 from the city, the conviction of nine other upper-level D.C. officials for various crimes, the resignation or firing of 11 more top city officials after they were interrogated about alleged misconduct, a D.C. prison system (Lorton) notorious for riots and other disorders, and a city mired in bureaucracy—all this will probably not deter black voters from returning Barry for a third term, though this time they may do so with more reluctance.

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Martin Luther King Jr

‘I want to be accepted for the content of my character, not the color of my skin,” says Carol Schwartz, borrowing Martin Luther King’s famous utterance at the apogee of the civil-rights movement. Mrs. Schwartz, a white Republican, is running for mayor of Washington, D.C., against black eight-year incumbent Marion Barry, in a heavily black Democratic town.

Local and national political pros here are intrigued by the race because, while Mrs. Schwartz is not expected to win, she is picking up surprising support. The reason: She has been an able and respected D.C. council member, while Barry has been surrounded by corruption and incompetence. A reported federal-grand-jury investigation into his expense accounts, the conviction of his former top assistant and best friend for embezzling some $200,-000 from the city, the conviction of nine other upper-level D.C. officials for various crimes, the resignation or firing of 11 more top city officials after they were interrogated about alleged misconduct, a D.C. prison system (Lorton) notorious for riots and other disorders, and a city mired in bureaucracy—all this will probably not deter black voters from returning Barry for a third term, though this time they may do so with more reluctance.