PFAW Member,
Washington, D.C. has more residents than the states of Vermont and Wyoming, yet it has no voting representation in Congress -- a basic tenet of our democracy.
Hundreds of thousands of taxpaying Americans have no voting representation in a federal government that dictates their local laws, courts, and budget.
Add your name to the thousands nationwide calling for D.C. to be recognized as the 51st state>>
Why haven’t we rectified this injustice? Well, it’s no coincidence that D.C. is 50% Black. This is modern-day colonialism and has a huge impeach on people of color.
D.C. Residents are:
- 50% Black & majority people of color.
- More populous than Wyoming and Vermont, and close in population to 6 other states.
- Overwhelmingly in support of statehood (86% of voters voted in favor in a 2016 referendum)
- Include 30,000 active duty military members and veterans -- but don’t even have a vote about whether we can enter into war.
After the end of slavery, formerly enslaved Black people fled to D.C., because its proximity to the federal government meant increased voting rights. Many Black people ran for office, and it became the Blackest city in America. In reaction, 200 years ago, racist members of Congress denied suffrage to D.C. residents, explicitly noting that they did so because D.C. was primarily Black.
Finally, D.C. statehood is getting the national attention it deserves. In September 2019, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held the first hearing on the issue in over 25 years, and Democratic federal officials overwhelmingly support it.
Thank you,
-- PFAW
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