PFAW Member,
On June 26 we took a historic step forward in the fight to make the District of Columbia a full state of the union. Passing H.R. 51 in the House of Representatives was a crucial vote, but Republican Senators are already expressing their fervent opposition to making D.C. our 51st state. We can’t let the GOP continue to disenfranchise millions of people!
As our nation celebrates its 244th birthday, the continued and deliberate disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of people must end!
We need YOU to tell the Senate to pass H.R. 51 and make D.C. a state! Add your name! >>
Donald Trump has famously claimed that the push for D.C. statehood is a political move focused entirely on increasing the Democrats’ influence in Congress – even though the movement toward statehood is many decades old. After the House’s vote, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell nonsensically called the push toward statehood “pure socialism,” and a press conference against statehood held by Senators Tom Cotton, Steve Daines, and Lindsey Graham was full of racist dog whistles and no actual substance.
Republican Senator Steve Daines spoke about how Congress should listen to the “real people” outside of this city. Since D.C.’s 700,000-person population is 46 percent Black and has a high percentage of Latinx and Asian people,1 it’s clear that the Republicans are only interested in further disenfranchising communities of color and maintaining the disproportionate impact of their predominantly white constituents in Congress and in the electoral college.
Denying full citizenship to D.C.’s racially diverse population sends the appalling message that the 700,000 people that live in D.C. don’t deserve to have a voice in their government. And yet, they still have the responsibilities of other states, such as paying taxes and serving jury duty. The outrage over the lack of statehood has angered the residents and the D.C. government so much that the old adage “Taxation without Representation” adorns the license plates of many who live there!
In recent months, D.C.’s unique and unjust situation has been made painfully clear by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the district’s infection caseload was higher than that of 19 states, it was denied millions of dollars in funding critical for helping its residents weather the coronavirus crisis. Had D.C. been a state when the pandemic hit, it’s possible that more lives in our nation’s capital could have been saved by being allotted the same funding.
We can’t wait any longer: D.C. needs to be a state now. And we need your help to do it!
It’s long past time to make D.C. statehood a reality, and it should be a priority for all of us who care about equality and opportunity.
In unity,
– Sarah, Digital Campaigns Associate
[1] D.C. Statehood Is a Racial Equity Issue for All of Us.
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