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The right to vote for people who will fight for us in Congress is the inheritance of all Americans . . . except for the 706,000 residents of Washington, DC.  They have been denied that core inheritance.  This scar on democracy is a symbol of America’s enduring racism.

In the 1870s, white Congressmen, anxious about what they called DC’s growing “negro problem,” stripped Washingtonians of the right to vote. Not until 1961 were DC citizens allowed to vote for president.

Also, while permitted to elect local leaders, DC self-government is a sham. If Congress dislikes DC’s decisions, they can strike them down. DC doesn’t even control its own national guard, which exacerbated the January 6 Insurrection.

Now, at this dawn of a new Progressive era, it is a moral imperative to extend full civil rights to all Americans, beginning with a vote scheduled next week in the House to make DC a state. Republicans howl it’s a “power grab.” Actually, Republicans fear shifting the dynamic from sparsely populated majority-white states with a largely Black state that will likely elect more Democrats.

Call Your Members of Congress!

Tell Them to Make DC a State!

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**ACTION ONE: CALL OUR U.S. SENATORS**

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR SENATORS MERKLEY AND WYDEN:

“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].