Don Barden honored as pioneer who 'molded opinion'

Don H. Barden, whose lifelong success as an entrepreneur began with a $500 investment in an Ohio record store and culminated in him becoming the first African American casino magnate with the ownership of properties in five states, joined the ancestors May 19, 2011 at Karmanos Cancer Institute due to complications from lung cancer. He was 67.

Barden wanted most of all to own a casino in Detroit, but then-Mayor Dennis Archer rejected Barden’s attempt to hold one of the city’s three casino licenses in 1996. Barden launched an effort (Proposal 1) in the late 1990s to open a $1-billion theme park resort in Detroit with megastar Michael Jackson in exchange for a city casino license. Although the initiative failed, Barden never left Detroit.

Among the mourners, befitting Barden's sway in entertainment and Democratic politics, were Anita Baker, Rep. John Conyers Jr., Tommy "Hitman" Hearns, former Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins, TV judge Greg Mathis and Debbie Dingell.

Speakers described Barden as a soft-spoken Horatio Alger with a big cigar jutting from his mouth and a thick roll of hundreds in his pocket.

Bishop Charles Ellis III, senior pastor of Greater Grace, said African-Americans were proud of Barden's success because it showed what their race could do.

"We were all part of Barden Cable," he said. "We talked about it like we owned stock."

Barden, 67, died May 19 after a battle with lung cancer. He was the owner of Barden Companies Inc., the Majestic Star and Fitzgerald's casinos and Waycor Development Co.

The lavish service featured a 40-page glossy program and several musical interludes, including songs by Baker and gospel singer Karen Clark-Sheard.

Among the 13 speakers were the chief operating officer of a Barden casino in Las Vegas and a representative of the African country of Namibia, where he owned an auto plant.

The service, which was filmed by five cameras, was shown on two video screens inside the church and live-streamed on the church website.

One person missing from the spectacle was Barden's estranged wife, Bella Marshall. The couple, who had been married 22 years, was engaged in a nasty divorce at the time of his death, and Marshall was sued by Barden's sister after Marshall threatened to move the body to a different funeral home.

Marshall's name was mentioned just once in passing by a speaker recounting an unrelated anecdote.

Speakers hailed Barden for building a $500 million conglomeration whose tentacles ranged from cable to casinos, from making cars to developing real estate.

Former Detroit City Council woman and U.S. Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins remembered Barden as a man who exceeded his own goals. “He aimed to be a millionaire and became a multi-millionaire.”

Anita Baker and Karen Clark Sheard sang before an audience that included Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, former Highland Park emergency financial manager Arthur Blackwell, and Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Craig Strong.

A family friend said that Bella Marshall, Barden’s estranged wife, did not attend the service.

Barden, who was born in Detroit, died May 19 at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit of lung cancer. He was 67.