John,

Did you realize that when the mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, the District of Columbia had to wait for permission before deploying the National Guard because it wasn’t a state?

DC's population is greater than two US states. Its 700,000 residents pay taxes and serve our nation. But they have no votes in Congress. None! For generations, they’ve been told their opinion just doesn't matter.

Read Deborah's email below about why it is critical that Washington, DC become a state. Then write to your members of Congress to make Washington, DC our 51st state!

The House is voting this week. Send your message today.

Thank you,

Nicolai Haddal
Field and Events Manager, Coalition on Human Needs

--DEBORAH'S EMAIL--

John,

Working people and families living in Washington, DC have never had equal representation.

Today, the city of 700,000 people, which is majority-Black and brown, have lived under a completely different set of rules than state residents in the United States. Rules that say: you don't get to participate in our democracy. You don't get to have a representative and senators to vote on legislation that will set the course for future generations. You don't get to decide if an unhinged President should be impeached.

These rules have silenced hundreds of thousands of people living in our nation's capital for far too long.

The time for DC statehood is NOW! We must ensure Washington, DC residents finally get voting representation in Congress.

Congress is voting on critical DC statehood legislation this coming Thursday! Write to your members of Congress today.

Not having representation in Congress may sound like an abstract problem. But the effect on residents’ lives is quite real.

There is overwhelming support for statehood in DC. In 2016, more than 85% of the city voted to demand statehood. It’s time to end this racial injustice and end taxation without representation. DC must become our 51st state.

Denying voting representation for residents of our nation’s capital violates the democratic principles our country was founded upon.

Here is what the New York Times wrote this week on this critical issue of making Washington, DC, our 51st state:

"More than 700,000 people live at the center of the so-called free world, but they don’t have any voting representation in Congress. Civil rights activists have long pointed to this predicament as an example of gross racial inequity."¹

We must right this wrong. And we have just a few days to get our message to Congress to demand DC become a state.

Thank you for all you do to fight for a future that includes all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs