DC Statehood

District To Celebrate Emancipation Day Amid Congressional Interference

April 10, 2024 Sam P. K. Collins, The Washington Informer. Resist! Black America, DC Statehood, Emancipation Day, Washington D.C.

As Kelsye Adams gears up for D.C. Emancipation Day festivities, she’s focused, now more than ever, on driving home the point to District residents that her hometown’s lack of statehood exacerbates many, if not all, of local policy issues. “We’re not able to make our laws, rules and regulations,” said Adams, a founding core organizer of Hands Off DC, a coalition of more than 50 organizations dedicated to rebuffing congressional interference in local affairs. “It’s blasphemous that residents don’t have a voice.” More than a year ago, Adams joined Nee Nee Taylor, Makia Green, Alex Dodds and a litany of other organizers and organizations in launching the Hands Off DC movement.

Democrats Try To Fix ‘Taxation Without Representation’ In DC

January 29, 2021 Sharon Zhang, Truthout. Create! Congress, DC Statehood, Washington DC

Democrats from the Senate and House introduced legislation on Wednesday that would make Washington, D.C., the 51st state. The bill was reintroduced in the House by Eleanor Holmes Norton, a nonvoting delegate in the House who represents D.C. In the Senate, Tom Carper (D-Delaware) reintroduced the bill with the support of over three dozen of his fellow Democrats. Norton said on Tuesday that the bill now has over 200 co-sponsors in the House. Making D.C. a state, which the Constitution grants Congress the right to do, would allow the region to have voting representation in Congress. Currently, they have one delegate in the House, Norton, who can serve on committees but cannot vote.

Three Takeaways From The Historic D.C. Statehood Hearing

September 22, 2019 Amanda Michelle Gomez, Washington City Paper. Create! Congress, DC Statehood, Democracy, Washington DC

The House of Representatives held the first hearing on D.C. statehood since 1993. The point of the hearing was to jump-start the process to vote on (and likely pass) H.R. 51, which would make the District the 51st state. Dozens of statehood advocates were inside the hearing, including Barbara Mitchell who arrived at Capitol Hill around 7 a.m. and was one of the first in line. Fittingly, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton oversaw the statehood hearing because House Oversight Committee Chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), wasn’t able to make it. “Statehood would give D.C. residents equal democratic rights,” said Holmes Norton at the start of the hearing, adding that H.R.51 has 220 co-sponsors but none are Republicans.

Stop Treating DC As A Colony; Take Action For DC Statehood

October 6, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Organize! DC Statehood, Democracy, Human Rights

Monday is a day of action for DC statehood. It is time to stop treating Washington, DC as a colony. D.C. Statehood Greens and friends are invited to attend a press conference at Lafayette Park on Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the White House on Monday, Oct. 6 at 1:00 p.m. Candidates Eugene Puryear and David Schwartzman will speak and Eugene will deliver a letter to President Obama urging him to support and promote legislation that would grant statehood to the District of Columbia. Bring banners and flags, wear D.C. statehood tee shirts and buttons to show your support! speak out publicly in support of D.C. statehood, in whatever way they can, on Oct. 6. (For Talking Points, read this press release: http://tinyurl.com/lb3ogsj). If you publish a statement, please send it to us! How to call Congress and the White House: • U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 • White House: 202-456-1111

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