Building Local and National Support for DC Statehood

Facebook Group for statehood supporters in DC and the 50 states

Statehood advocates have been involved in numerous efforts to build support locally and nationally for the 51st state. One of their first was attending the Democratic National Convention in 2012. In September of that year, the late Jerry Clark, Chair of DC for Democracy, led the effort to mobilize thirty plus volunteers to travel from Washington to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention. They were hopeful that the final version of the Democratic Party platform would include DC statehood and determined to remind everyone they met that it is in the Democratic Party’s best progressive tradition. The omission of DC statehood from the platform was a huge disappointment to everyone from Washington, but the response of Delegates, party officials and volunteers to their statehood message was encouraging.

Several weeks after the Democratic National Convention, statehood advocates gathered for a debriefing. They decided that their developing coalition should become the DC Statehood Coalition and that Jerry Clark would be the chair. The Coalition agreed to continue efforts to build support for DC statehood, both locally and in the 50 states, and to continue advocacy on the Hill. Groups participating in the Coalition included the ACLU of the National Capital Area, DC for Democracy, and DC Statehood – Yes We Can! as well as Neighbors’ United for DC Statehood, Standup! for Democracy! in DC Coalition, and the Statehood Green Party. Individual participation has also been welcome.

The wide range of support-building activities included exhibiting at national conferences, visiting states, polling and educational efforts on the National Mall, DC Statehood Trivia Nights at local bars, and canvassing in DC neighborhoods, as well as banners, buttons, curriculum materials, videos and websites. Many of these activities were supported by Voting Rights and Statehood grants awarded to nonprofits by the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. Local nonprofit groups whose statehood activities were supported by these grants included DC Vote, Historical Society of Washington, League of Women Voters, Stand Up! for Democracy, Students for DC Statehood, and Vision House.¹

An important part of building support was persuading national organizations to endorse DC Statehood.  Advocates, working through local affiliates in which they were active, were able to persuade national organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Episcopal Church USA, League of Women Voters, and the Sierra Club to endorse DC Statehood. By the end of 2016, the DC Statehood Coalition’s website listed 15 national and 16 local organizations that had endorsed DC statehood.²

DC’s shadow senators have been involved in creative projects to build support for statehood. In 2013, Senator Michael D. Brown launched “Shadow Politics,” a weekly satellite radio program, featuring a variety of guests, including Eleanor Holmes Norton and Major Charles F. Bolden, former NASA Administrator. The program is initially available on Sunday evening at 7, and later on the show’s website. The next year, Senator Paul Strauss launched 51 Stars with the goal of getting 51 celebrities to record public services announcements promoting the 51st State. The first PSA was recorded by Hayden Panettiere. Other stars, including DC’s own Dave Chapelle, have recorded spots advocating for DC statehood.³

The Senate’s first hearing on DC statehood, which brought hundreds of Washingtonians to the Dirksen Building on September 15, 2014, helped build support for statehood. The hearing was organized by Thomas Carper (D-Del), who was then chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. While the hearing did not lead to follow-up action in the Senate, the testimony of key witnesses did refute typical objections to DC statehood. One of the witnesses, for example, was the late Alice Rivlin, a distinguished economist, who had led both the federal Office of Management and Budget and DC’s Control Board. Her testimony, that the residential and commercial areas of the District will be a “fiscally viable state” addressed doubts about whether DC can afford statehood. Viet Dinh, constitutional scholar at Georgetown University and former legal advisor to President George W. Bush, presented convincing testimony that the statehood legislation is constitutional. He predicted that the courts will refuse to hear a case challenging the constitutionality of an admission act for DC.⁴

The hearing also increased Senate support for DC statehood. Three Senators became cosponsors the day of the hearing.

Because of the advocacy and efforts to build support that began in 2011, there was more support for DC statehood in Congress by the end of 2015 than there had ever been.

¹ https://os.dc.gov/node/63162.d

² www.dcstatehoodcoalition.org.

³ https://bbsradio.com/shadowpolitics.

⁴ “Congress Takes Up Bill to Make D.C. the 51st State,” Washington Post, Sep 16, 2014.