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Indivisibles,
Today is an important next step in the fight for D.C. statehood, as the
House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on the statehood bill, H.R. 51.
This hearing is critical for several reasons -- it serves as an
opportunity to educate the public (and the Democratic senators who are
still dragging their feet on supporting statehood) about the historic
injustice that currently leaves the 700,000+ D.C. residents (a plurality
of whom are Black) without voting representation in Congress. In addition,
this hearing provides an opportunity for lawmakers to debate the
constitutional and logistical path to making D.C. the 51st state.
This isn’t the first time that the House has held a hearing on D.C.
statehood, but the last time it did (in 2019), Republicans were still in
control of the Senate, meaning there was no chance that the bill would be
considered after it passed the House. This time is different. Democrats
have a trifecta -- which means D.C. statehood is finally within reach.
But that doesn’t mean this fight is going to be easy. While the bill
currently has 216 co-sponsors in the House and 42 co-sponsors in the
Senate, we still need to pressure our members of Congress to prioritize
H.R. 51. Call your representative and demand they support the Washington,
D.C. statehood bill. [ [link removed] ]Click here to call now. Then keep reading for more
ways to get involved!
As a D.C. resident, you know first-hand the challenges that arise from
your lack of representation in Congress, and that’s why we’re asking you
to make a video about what D.C. statehood means to you. [ [link removed] ]Click here to
record a video now.
Why D.C. statehood is so important
By now, Indivisibles like you know democracy reform is critical to
ensuring that we achieve all the progressive priorities we fought so hard
for during the last four years. And one of the ways that we do that is by
making D.C. the 51st state. If granted statehood, D.C. would be the only
state in the nation to have a plurality of Black residents -- which means
that hundreds of thousands of residents in the District would gain equal
representation in Congress for the first time, thereby overturning
hundreds of years of disenfranchisement and racism.
In addition, D.C. statehood would add two new senators who would work to
rebalance the Senate from entrenched minority control. The current makeup
of the Senate is biased towards largely white, low-population states. This
means that Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and people
living in more populous states receive less representation in the Senate.
Making D.C. a state would begin to counteract this bias, which is why it’s
a crucial step in reforming our democracy so that it works for the people,
not just the white, powerful, or wealthy.
If you’re all-in for D.C. statehood, [ [link removed] ]call your representative and
demand they support the Washington, D.C. statehood bill. Then, tackle this
short list of things you can also do to support statehood:
* [ [link removed] ]Tweet at your members of Congress and demand they support D.C.
statehood.
* [ [link removed] ]Record a video and let your members of Congress know why D.C.
statehood is important to you.
* [ [link removed] ]Write a letter to the editor on why D.C. statehood is important for
democracy reform.
* [ [link removed] ]Listen to and share our ‘51 Songs for the 51st State’ Spotify
playlist to get you ready for today’s hearing!
Stay tuned on our social media, [ [link removed] ]Indivisible Team on Twitter and
[ [link removed] ]Indivisible Guide on Facebook, to follow along on the latest from the
House Oversight hearing. We’ll also follow up later here with more details
and next steps. In the meantime, make your voices heard throughout the day
to demand D.C. statehood.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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