1,000 signatures reached
To: Your U.S. Senators
Demand a Real Path to D.C. Statehood with 51 Votes in the Senate
More than 700,000 mostly Black and Brown people currently live in the shadow of the United States Capitol, but have neither a vote in Congress nor equal protection under law because D.C. is not a state. Congress must act now to correct for this blight on our democracy and send legislation for D.C. statehood to President Biden’s desk in his first 100 days.
The lack of statehood was born out of the moral stain of slavery and persists through desperate political games to suppress Black and Brown political power and progress. We can no longer let politics overpower the will of the people. Congress has a rare opportunity—now with the Democratic-controlled 117th Congress and Biden-Harris Administration— to grant D.C. statehood this session and must find the courage to pass it through the Senate with 51 votes.
The only thing standing between more than 700,000 people and the rights and privileges of statehood is an arcane Senate rule known as the filibuster, which was a favorite weapon of segregationists and continues to be employed to block necessary progress for our communities today. We cannot let this Jim Crow relic, this Senate loophole continue to block the people of D.C.’s vote in Congress.
We are asking you to join us in calling on your Senators to make D.C. the 51st state with 51 votes.
The lack of statehood was born out of the moral stain of slavery and persists through desperate political games to suppress Black and Brown political power and progress. We can no longer let politics overpower the will of the people. Congress has a rare opportunity—now with the Democratic-controlled 117th Congress and Biden-Harris Administration— to grant D.C. statehood this session and must find the courage to pass it through the Senate with 51 votes.
The only thing standing between more than 700,000 people and the rights and privileges of statehood is an arcane Senate rule known as the filibuster, which was a favorite weapon of segregationists and continues to be employed to block necessary progress for our communities today. We cannot let this Jim Crow relic, this Senate loophole continue to block the people of D.C.’s vote in Congress.
We are asking you to join us in calling on your Senators to make D.C. the 51st state with 51 votes.
Why is this important?
If you march because Black Lives Matter, our calls for racial justice are one: Last summer, the people of D.C. were tear gassed while peacefully protesting for our lives. This January, white supremacists descended not just on the U.S. Capitol but on the neighborhoods we call home. Our community was left vulnerable to the violence of hate and then called to clean up the mess, because we lack the protection of statehood. And, if the District is granted statehood, it would be the first and only state with a plurality of Black residents. D.C. statehood is a racial justice issue.
If you advocate for a path through the pandemic, our calls for relief are one: In the first COVID stimulus bill, D.C. received a fraction of the support we needed to take care of our own, because we did not have the status of statehood. This too left the communities around us more vulnerable to the virus. D.C. statehood is a health care issue.
If you walked out of school to demand safety, our calls for gun violence prevention are one: Congress has used its outsized authority over D.C. to block and threaten the local government’s ability to pass life-saving measures. D.C. statehood is a gun violence prevention issue.
If you know #MyBodyMyChoice should be policy, our calls for reproductive rights are one: D.C. is blocked from spending local dollars on abortion care because without statehood, our elected local leaders don’t control our budget. D.C. statehood is a reproductive health, rights, and justice issue.
The movement for D.C. statehood is inextricably linked to the movements for progress you are leading in every corner of this nation, so it will require all of us joining together to demand a real path to D.C. statehood. Add your voice today.
If you advocate for a path through the pandemic, our calls for relief are one: In the first COVID stimulus bill, D.C. received a fraction of the support we needed to take care of our own, because we did not have the status of statehood. This too left the communities around us more vulnerable to the virus. D.C. statehood is a health care issue.
If you walked out of school to demand safety, our calls for gun violence prevention are one: Congress has used its outsized authority over D.C. to block and threaten the local government’s ability to pass life-saving measures. D.C. statehood is a gun violence prevention issue.
If you know #MyBodyMyChoice should be policy, our calls for reproductive rights are one: D.C. is blocked from spending local dollars on abortion care because without statehood, our elected local leaders don’t control our budget. D.C. statehood is a reproductive health, rights, and justice issue.
The movement for D.C. statehood is inextricably linked to the movements for progress you are leading in every corner of this nation, so it will require all of us joining together to demand a real path to D.C. statehood. Add your voice today.