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Washington DC fights to be the 51st State of the Union

2021-03-22T22:55:31.399Z


The capital is the seat of federal powers, but does not have a governor or vote in Parliament Defenders of Washington DC becoming the 51st State of the Union, in front of a mural by Martin Luther King.MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EFE The flags of the United States that a group of residents of the city of Washington flew this Monday in front of the Capitol did not have the classic 50 stars - one for each State -, but 51. From the mayor of the city, Muriel Bowser, to dedicated activists for the cause


Defenders of Washington DC becoming the 51st State of the Union, in front of a mural by Martin Luther King.MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EFE

The flags of the United States that a group of residents of the city of Washington flew this Monday in front of the Capitol did not have the classic 50 stars - one for each State -, but 51. From the mayor of the city, Muriel Bowser, to dedicated activists for the cause of the District of Columbia (DC) becoming the 51st State of the Union, they chanted the slogan "Statehood Now."

Stasha Rhodes, head of the "51 for 51" campaign, a group that advocates for Washington to become a state, sees the District of Columbia as much more than a political machine.

"Many Americans think of DC as the place where the Capitol, the White House or the National Mall is," he explained in an interview on public radio NPR.

"But what they don't think about or pay attention to is the 700,000 Washingtonians who don't have access to all that democracy that surrounds them."

Many are the examples that show, for the defenders of statehood, the need to convert DC into a state: how badly it reacted to the pandemic;

Former President Donald Trump to order the deployment of the National Guard during the peaceful protests of the Black rights movement;

the lack of preparation and rapid response to the January 6 assault on the Capitol.

The District does not have a Governor and his representative in Congress does not have the right to vote.

Today, we remember the words of Frederick Douglass:



"Power grants nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."



We go to the hill with our demand: #DCStatehood now! Pic.twitter.com/foARSsmFdT

- Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 22, 2021

This was reiterated this Monday by that representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has been fighting for statehood for almost three decades, since in 1993 she presented a bill in Congress that, despite promoting the first debate on the subject in the Capitol, was overwhelmingly defeated: 277 votes against 153.

Norton has never stopped fighting and on June 26, in a historic vote, the House of Representatives approved making Washington DC the 51st State in the Union.

The final score was 232-180.

Faced with the euphoria of the Democrats and the Washingtonians, the Republican Party described the decision as a maneuver to obtain more political power from the Democratic Party, since automatically -due to the political composition of the territory-, the Democrats would add two more senators in the Upper House.

Statehood would undoubtedly change the dynamics of a Senate where members of conservative rural states can wield disproportionate influence over voting, federal courts, and presidential nominations.

Opponents of the change in status further argue that the Founding Fathers wanted the capital to be clearly separated from the rest of the states.

It was the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia that gave up land in the 1780s for the creation of a federal capital along the Potomac River.

Washington, the District of Columbia, thus became the permanent capital of the United States in 1790. The new state would be called Washington Douglass Commonwealth, named after the nation's first president, George Washington, and the prominent black abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

On Monday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing to hear arguments about why Washington DC deserves statehood.

The president of such a committee, Carolyn Maloney, declared that adding DC as one more state "should not be about doing politics or not, but about equality and democracy."

In his opinion, "it is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that all Americans can fully enjoy the rights established in the Constitution."

The sun is rising, DC!



On behalf of 712,000 residents, we will demand full citizenship today at 11 am # DCStatehoodNow pic.twitter.com/OtJKZv1vpp

- Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) March 22, 2021

The bill, known as HR 51, seeks "fairness and justice," in Norton's words, especially when Washingtonians pay more taxes than at least 22 other states and contribute more

per capita

to the federal government than any other jurisdiction. , and yet "they have no vote in Congress."

Famous are the license plates of the cars of the District for the claim claiming motto that they are printed: "Taxes without Representation."

Rhodes, from 51 for 51, also considers that leaving 700,000 citizens, most of them black and Latino, without a vote in Congress is a matter of "racism."

"DC residents pay federal taxes and serve in the Army, yet they do not have a vote in Congress," says activist Rhodes.

"It's an injustice and, honestly, a stain on America's democracy."

President Joe Biden spoke out in favor of statehood during the last White House election campaign.

The Democratic dream of DC being the 51st State will collide with the reality of filibustering when it reaches the Senate and a 60-vote majority is required to pass the law.

The Senate has after the last elections a 50/50 composition, with the tiebreaker vote in the hands of the vice president, Democrat Kamala Harris.

That is why there are those who say that the law is born dead.

However, the mayor of the city assures that the historical error will be corrected.

"I was born here without a vote [in Congress], but I swear I will not die here without a vote."

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Source: elparis

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