The residents of what is now the District of Columbia lost their full democratic rights to self-government and a government of, by and for the people over 221 years ago.  Ever since then, they have been demanding that Congress restore the full rights of American citizenship.

D.C. Statehood Documentaries: The Last Battlefront & Who Cares About DC?

The Last Battlefront, a new documentary by filmmaker Anna Reid Jhirad of Marigold Productions, LLC,  premiered on WETA TV (channel 26.1) in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on November 8, 2021. The film is a one hour history of the fight for the right to self-government for the people of the District of Columbia. It examines four turning points in the District's history to show how the residents of the nation's capital lost their basic democratic rights over two centuries ago and became the "subjects" of other Americans and how they have struggled to restore the liberty enjoyed by other Americans. Their story is tied to the United States' original sin of slavery and racism and is one very few Americans know. You can learn more about the film at http://www.dcbattlefront.com. It is the American history everyone should know.

Who Cares About DC? by Stephen Kolb is another new documentary film that addresses the case for making DC the 51st state.This film focuses on the 2016 statehood referendum and contemporary efforts by District residents to regain their right to self-government --i.e. LIBERTY! It can be streamed at http://www.WhoCaresAboutDC.com.

The Senate Held Hearing on D.C. Statehood June 22, 2021

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held the second ever hearing on a District of Columbia statehood bill on June 22, 2021. Video of the hearing and the written statements of the witnesses can be found at on the Committee's website at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/examining-dc-statehood. To read D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's opening remarks at the hearing, see below.

Nine Michigan groups were among over 100 that wrote Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the D.C. statehood bill, urging him to schedule a markup of the legislation. There are 46 Senate co-sponsors of the bill, including Peters. The only Democrats not on the bill are Senators Manchin and Sinema, as well as Sen. King (Independent) from Maine.

The House of Representatives Passes H.R. 51

On April 22, the full House of Representatives debates and passes H.R. 51, the D.C. statehood bill, by a vote of 216 to 208.  The bill is then sent to the Senate. This is the second time the House has approved a D.C. statehood bill. The House last approved one in June 2020.

House Committee Marks up and reports H.R. 51 April 14, 2021

The Committee on Oversight and Reform marked up and reported  the District of Columbia statehood bill (H.R. 51) to the full House of Representatives on Wednesday, April 14, 202. It was only the second markup of the bill in Congress since 1993 and occurred just two days before D.C. Emancipation Day (April 16). D.C. Emancipaltion Day is the District of Columbia's only official local holiday. It celebrates Congress' freeing of 3,100 slaves in the District of Columbia on April 16, 1862, nine months before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. To read the Committee's press release and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's press release about the markup, see below.

House D.C. Statehood Hearing March 22, 2021

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) held a hearing on the District of Columbia statehood bill (H.R. 51) on March 22 2021, at 11:00 a.m. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Acting CFO Dr. Fitzroy Lee, Congressional Research Service Legislative Attorney Mainon Schwartz, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Interim President Wade Henderson and D.C. veteran Harry Wingo testified. Norton thanked COR Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) for her leadership on D.C. See full press release and testimonies below.

Sen. Carper Introduces D.C. Statehood BIll in the U.S. Senate

On January 26, 2021, Senator Thomas Carper [D-DE] introduced S. 51, the companion bill to H.R. 51, with 38 original cosponsors. For the list of cosponsors go to "Statehood Bills" under "How Can I Help?" on the right side of this home page.

Eleanor Holmes Norton Introduces a new D.C. Statehood Bill in the House of Representatives

On January 3, 2021, on the first day of the 117th session of Congress, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduces the Washington, D.C. Admission Act in the House of Representatives. It has 202 original cosponsors, the most ever for a D.C. statehood bill. See article below.  For the list of cosponsors go to "Statehood Bills" under "How Can I Help?" on the right side of this home page.

1. Urge the Mayor and Council to clarify and/or change the new state's name (see article below) to a more geographically appropriate one.

2. Urge the Mayor and Council to fund and begin statehood transition planning (see article below).

3. Urge members of Congress, especially in the Senate, to support statehood. THe House of Representatives approved a D.C. statehood bill on April 22, 2021. It is pending in the Senate.

4 & 5. Other Actions (see below)

For more information on all these items read more.

No where else, but in our nation's capital, do Americans lose their democratic rights merely because of their choice of residence. No where else do American citizens have all the responsibilities of citizenship, but few of the rights.

District citizens pay full federal taxes and serve in the military and die for our country but have no say in whether we go to war, what those taxes are, who serves on our federal courts or in the President's cabinet, or whether the United States should enter into various treaties and international obligations. We can't even spend our own local tax money freely. Congress is implicitly our "state legislature" and does whatever it wants here, even things it would not dare to impose on their constituents back in their home states.

On February 14, 2022, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton issued a press release in which she vowed to defeat efforts by Republicans in the House of Representatives to repeal the District of Columbia's home rule act if they take over the House next year.  Washington Post columnist Colbert King responded with a strong opinion piece. See below.