D.C. Statehood Day

By: Miriam Edelman

D.C. Statehood Day (May 1st) is a day for D.C. residents to advocate for D.C. statehood. May 1st was chosen because its abbreviation is 51, the number of the state that D.C. wants to become. On D.C. Statehood Day, people can talk with their friends and family about D.C. statehood, wear D.C. clothes, attend D.C. Statehood events (including some that are mentioned later in this piece), and utilize the #dcstatehoodday hashtags on social media.

D.C. Statehood Day (2023 and 2024)

The first D.C. Statehood Day occurred on May 1, 2023. Its launch video is on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmnpQRlv-cw&t=5s. On that day, a press conference featured Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and a D.C. statehood documentary. As DC Statehood PAC’s Lori Masters said:

DC Statehood Day is a rallying cry for all Americans who believe the 700,000 tax-paying citizens of the District should enjoy equal participation in our democracy.

The single idea of ‘taxation without representation’ that gave rise to the American Revolution still resonates today.

D.C. residents pay the highest federal taxes per capita and more federal taxes than 23 states, and the District has a bond rating higher than 35 states. D.C. residents have fought and died in every war since the Revolution, and they deserve voting representation in Congress and full local self-government.

In 2024, D.C. Statehood Day was celebrated again. A video about this day is on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms-9-5fwO2k&t=17s. Anna Reid Jhirad’s film, entitled “The Last Battlefield: Quest for the Vote in Washington, D.C.,” was shown at an event in Shaw. Statehood Sunday occurred at the Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council

During 2023 and 2024, D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council supported D.C. Statehood Day. In 2023, Bowser’s Proclamation and a D.C. Council resolution CER25-0061 - D.C. Statehood Day Recognition Resolution of 2023) both declared May 1st, D.C. Statehood Day. In 2024, Bowser issued a D.C. Statehood Day Proclamation, and the D.C. Council approved a D.C. Statehood Day resolution (CER25-0208 - D.C. Statehood Day Recognition Resolution 2024).

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

In both 2023 and 2024, Norton (D-DC) has introduced a resolution supporting May 1st as D.C. Statehood Day. On April 28, 2023, Norton introduced H.Res.340 – “Recognizing the disenfranchisement of District of Columbia residents, calling for statehood for the District of Columbia through the enactment of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, and expressing support for the designation of May 1, 2023, as "D.C. Statehood Day”. [sic.]” On May 1, 2024, Norton introduced H.Res.1190 – “Recognizing the disenfranchisement of District of Columbia residents, calling for statehood for the District of Columbia through the enactment of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, and expressing support for the designation of May 1, 2024, as "D.C. Statehood Day". [sic.]”

On April 27, 2023, Norton’s office issued a press release regarding her resolution. The release quoted Norton:

The single idea of 'taxation without representation' that gave rise to the American Revolution still resonates today."

D.C. residents pay the highest federal taxes per capita and more federal taxes than 23 states, and the District has a bond rating higher than 35 states. D.C. residents have fought and died in every war since the Revolution, and they deserve voting representation in Congress and full local self-government.

Highlighting the District’s need for statehood, as early and as often as possible, only serves to help us reach statehood sooner, and I introduced this resolution to name May 1st, or 5/1, ‘Statehood Day’ for this very reason.

In Norton’s office’s press release on May 1, 2024, regarding her 2024 resolution, Norton made similar remarks to what she made in 2023.

D.C. Statehood Day 2025

Celebrate D.C. Statehood Day 2025. DC Statehood PAC, DC Young Democrats, People For The American Way, Vanguard Actions, and Neighbors United for DC Statehood will host a “D.C. Statehood Day networking happy hour” at the Park at 14th (920 14th Street) at 5:30 p.m. on May 1st. Statehood Sunday will be at the Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ at 10:00 a.m. on May 4th.

Final Thoughts

D.C. must become a state. It is long past time for D.C. residents to be full U.S. citizens, not subject to Congressional interference and micromanagement. Current D.C.-related events highlight the necessity of D.C. statehood.