By: Miriam Edelman People can visit some locations with major ties to women in the nation’s capital. This piece does not include every such landmark. Entire Museums Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument 144 Constitution Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 The Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument (BPWENM) describes “the story of a community of women who dedicated their lives to the fight for women’s rights.” The BPWENM was the headquarters of the National Wo

By: Miriam Edelman As of 2025, Washington, D.C., had a population of 693,645 even though at least twice in the past decade, D.C.’s population surpassed 700,000. This piece uses different populations of D.C. because D.C.’s population changes and because relevant resources have a slightly different D.C. populations. Regardless of exactly how many people live in D.C. at any given time, all D.C. residents are treated as sub-par citizens although they pay taxes and may fight for t

By: Miriam Edelman Women’s rights icon Gloria Steinem died in her residence in New York City on September 2, 2026, at age 92. According to The New York Times, she “personified the women’s movement and became its most enduring symbol.” The cause of death was not stated. Steinem’s death was announced on social media. On September 3rd, Kim Villanueva, the President of the National Organization for Women, issued a statement about the passing of Steinem: “WASHINGTON—Gloria Stein

By: Miriam Edelman Minnesota just became the first state in U.S. history whose two major political parties (meaning Democratic and Republican parties) nominated women for both Governor and a U.S. Senate seat in the same election cycle. On Minnesota’s primary election day on August 11, 2026, Democrat U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth were nominated for Governor and Democrat Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and Republican Michele Ta

By: Miriam Edelman President Donald Trump has continued to attack D.C. Councilmember and Democratic Mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George. This piece follows up on DCNOW’s blog piece, entitled “Trump Again Threatens to Take Over D.C. – This Time Regarding D.C.’s 2026 Mayoral Primary Elections.” June 28, 2026 On June 28th, fewer than two weeks after Lewis George secured the Democratic Mayoral nomination, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Janeese Lewis George, the Communist who is

By: Miriam Edelman In 2024, Initiative 83, which won with 73 percent of the vote, called for ranked-choice voting (RCV) and semi-open primaries. In RCV, “voters rank candidates in order of preference.” Semi-open primaries would allow people not registered with a political party to vote in D.C.’s primary elections. In order to implement the two voting reforms, the D.C. government would have to fund them. However, in July 2025, D.C. government funded only RCV. One of DCNOW’s bl

By: Miriam Edelman History was just made in the U.S. Senate. Since Senator Darline Graham (DG) (R-SC), took office on July 14, 2026, there is a record 27 female Senators, surpassing the 2020 record of 26 female Senators. DG replaced her late brother, long-time Senator Lindsey Graham (LG) (R-SC), who died on July 11, 2026. This piece discusses the current female Senators and follows up on DCNOW’s blog post, entitled “Senator Darline Graham Makes History.” Current Female Sena

By: Miriam Edelman Senator Darline Graham (DG) (R-SC) took office on July 14, 2026. DG replaced her late brother, long-time Senator Lindsey Graham (LG) (R-SC), who died on July 11, 2026, days after turning 71 years old. The swearing in of DG means that there are a record 27 female Senators, exceeding the 2020 record of 26 female Senators. DG is South Carolina’s first female Senator and the first sibling to replace a deceased Senator in U.S. history. Of the 65 (almost a third

For decades, D.C. has utilized “Taxation without representation” as a slogan, raising awareness of D.C.’s disenfranchisement. This piece follows up on DCNOW’s blog piece entitled “Happy 250th, USA.” License Plates In 2000, D.C. began putting “Taxation Without Representation” on its license plates, replacing the old motto “Celebrate and Discover”. The lettering and the red, white, and blue colors of D.C.’s license plates remained. In 2021, The Washington Post began its pie

By: Miriam Edelman The United States turns a consequential 250 years old today (July 4, 2026). Our nation is officially a quarter of a millennium old. As I reflect on the historic nature of today, I think about the following recent question of civil rights leader Wade Henderson: “As America marks its semiquincentennial in 2026, we should ask a simple question: How can the world’s leading democracy justify denying full democratic rights to more than 700,000 of its own citize

By: Miriam Edelman Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – DCNOW congratulates all of its endorsed D.C. Council candidates on their special election and their primary election victories. The primary election winners will be advancing to the November 3, 2026, general election. DCNOW announces that it is making an additional general election endorsement. The June 2026 special election and primary elections were the first time that D.C. used ranked-choice voting (RCV). In RCV electio

By: Miriam Edelman As the U.S. will turn 250 years old very soon, celebrating a milestone anniversary of the colonies gaining independence and forming our country, I think about the original 13 colonies and the colonists. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services describes the creation of the U.S.: “Each colony had its own government, but the British king controlled these governments. By the 1770s, many colonists were angry because they did not have self-government. Thi

By: Miriam Edelman Home rule and statehood for the District of Columbia are frequently discussed together, but they are not the same. D.C. does not have either, as it has limited home rule and is not a state (although it is “treated as a state in more than 500 federal laws”). Some of DCNOW’s previous blog posts have discussed home rule and/or statehood. Home Rule Home rule is the ability of D.C.’s elected government to be in charge of D.C. If D.C. were to have true home rul

By: Miriam Edelman Pride celebrations in the District of Columbia just celebrated their 51st anniversary in June 2026. As of January 2024, D.C., which Mayor Muriel Bowser had called “the gayest city in the world,” is the home of the greatest percent of LGBT residents in the United States. A report of the Williams Institute of the University of California Law School in Lost Angeles stated that 14.5 percent of D.C.’s adult population is LGBT, almost double the percent of the L

By: Miriam Edelman Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19th), which celebrates the termination of slavery, marks the day African-Americans in Texas were notified of their freedom. The Day has been linked to support for statehood for Washington, D.C. Many people in Texas had not known about the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in confederate states in 1863 until more than two years later because Texas was isolated. Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day

By: Miriam Edelman The District of Columbia metropolitan area’s Metro Rail system turned 50 years old on March 27, 1976. During the past half century, people have made over seven billion trips on Metro, part of the 15 billion trips on Metro, Metro Bus, and Metro Access combined. During Metro’s history, Metro expanded immensely. When Metro started service on March 27, 1976, there were just five stops between Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North on the Red Line, which was 4

By: Miriam Edelman President Donald Trump continues to interfere with Washington, D.C. This time, on June 11, 2026, less than a week before D.C.’s 2026 elections and after some D.C. residents have already voted, Trump threatened to take over D.C. if top Mayoral candidate D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, a Democratic socialist, wins D.C.’s June 16, 2026, primary election. Although Trump has been overly focused on the District of Columbia, he had not made any comments o

By: Miriam Edelman King Charles III recently made history by becoming the first King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to address a joint session of Congress. When he spoke in the chamber of the House of Representatives on April 28, 2026, he was the second British monarch, the first one being his mother Queen Elizabeth II on May 16, 1991, and the 11th King or Queen to address Congress. This Congressional speech was part of a four-day state visit

By: Miriam Edelman Press Release WASHINGTON – In 2026, DCNOW became an inaugural steering committee member of the new Together for DC campaign, which launched on June 5, 2026. Together for DC is a District of Columbia-based initiative that activates Americans outside of D.C. for D.C. statehood and defends D.C. from federal government micromanagement. As DCNOW wrote in its blog piece, entitled “Non-D.C. Residents Are Especially Needed for D.C. Statehood,” “Residents around the

By: Miriam Edelman DCNOW mourns former D.C. Shadow Senator Jesse Jackson. On February 17, 2026, Jackson died in Chicago at age 84. The civil rights icon had battled progressive supranuclear palsy, a severe neurodegenerative condition. Upon Jackson’s death, The New York Times referred to Jackson as “the nation’s most influential Black figure in the years between the civil rights crusades of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the election of Barack Obama” although it noted