The Senate Must Not Allow Filibuster to Stand in the Way of D.C. Statehood
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 22, 2021
PRESS CONTACT:
For Second Time in U.S. History, House Passes Historic D.C. Statehood Legislation
Washington, D.C. — Today, for just the second time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would make Washington D.C. the 51st state. H.R. 51, the Washington D.C. Admission Act, now moves to the Senate, where its companion bill by the same name has record support from 45 Senators. Earlier this week, the Biden administration issued the first ever statement of administrative policy in support of D.C. statehood.
To mark this historic moment in the movement for D.C. statehood, 51 for 51 Campaign Manager Stasha Rhodes issued the following statement:
“First, we would like to thank Congresswoman Norton for her tireless efforts to help bring the statehood movement to this historic point. Now it is time for the Senate to pass D.C. statehood legislation with 51 votes in the Senate and finally grant Washingtonians the right to a vote in Congress. We are calling on Leader Schumer and his colleagues in the Senate to not allow one vestige of slavery and Jim Crow to prevent us from rectifying another. We cannot allow D.C. statehood to become the next bill in a long line of civil rights legislation killed by the filibuster.
Equal representation in Congress for more than 700,000 mostly Black and Brown Washingtonians is a critical voting rights issue and it’s no longer enough for Congress to support or talk about democracy reforms while leaving D.C. statehood on the legislative back burner. We want to see the Senate make statehood part of this generation’s civil rights legacy no matter what.”
51 for 51 has been calling on leaders to support a politically viable path to statehood for D.C. for over two years now, culminating in the endorsement of statehood legislation passing the Senate with a simple majority by 18 former Democratic presidential candidates, including now-President Joe Biden and now-Vice President Kamala Harris. In the last month, 51 for 51 has called attention to statehood as an urgent racial justice and civil rights issue with actions in New York City, urging Leader Schumer to prioritize statehood with the Resistance Revival Chorus and activist Christian Cooper and a digital campaign commemorating the yet unfinished work of D.C. Emancipation Day. 51 for 51 will continue to push Senators to support a politically viable path to D.C. statehood.
To speak with a representative of 51 for 51, please contact press@51for51.org
Website: https://www.51for51.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/51for51