DC Statehood

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Despite having a population and economy larger than some states, the people of DC lack a federal voice and local autonomy. But decades of advocacy and activism have raised the prospect of DC Statehood once again. This collection of articles explores the evolving arguments for statehood, and highlights some of the local characters who have been pushing it for some time.

The District's lack of autonomy leaves its 700,000 residents vulnerable to the political right's misogynistic machinations.

An analysis of the District 2022 primary elections suggest DC is depolarizing around race and repolaring around class.

By laying a foundation of civic and political education in local Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, the DSA can equip and prepare socialists to vie for power in the District.

The battle for basic rights is about to get tougher. So must the Left.

Alex Mell-Taylor

The vehicle Mayor Bowser is using to build more affordable units is not well managed, and her administration has a history of using it to reward developers that do not perform the best.

DC statehood is back on the nation’s agenda. With Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, only a likely Senate filibuster stands in the way of adding a 51st star to the US flag.

Stu Comstock-Gay

A republished interview from 1984 with DC statehood and environmental activist Josphine Butler.

Longtime DSA member Howard Croft, who died of COVID-19 in June, ran for DC Council in 1997. This article provides a concise overview of Croft’s accomplishments to that point and the vision he brought to the race for the Ward 6 seat.

The treatment of the District during both the COVID-19 crisis and the Black Lives Matter protests provides yet another argument why the District needs self-government.

Dr. Oye Owolewa

The push to make DC the 51st state has reached its next critical stage.

Multiple Authors

Dr. Howard Croft, DC Statehood advocate, professor and chair of urban studies at UDC and longtime member of Metro DC DSA from its earliest days, has died. Members and activists who have long memories of his tireless work for empowerment of all residents of the District of Columbia contribute their recollections.

Hilda Mason was not only a longtime DC councilmember but also an open socialist, making her one of the few DSA members in elected office prior to 2017.

The proposed bill from a decade ago, which would have given DC a single vote in the House but no Senate representation, sold democracy short. That would have given DC no voice in the impeachment trial, nor in the confirmation votes of the rogues’ gallery of Trump appointees.

While being a socialist isn’t required to support statehood for the District, the cause does demand the support and involvement of all true socialists.

While proposals for DC statehood have been submitted in each Congress for decades, the current bill is the first to have been declared a priority by the Democratic leadership of both houses.

The struggle for full democratic rights for the District of Columbia will take another step forward on July 24 when the House Committee on Oversight and Reform holds a hearing on H.R. 51, a bill to make the DC the 51st state.

Odds appear good that a bill for DC statehood will pass the House of Representatives, a new first in the fight for equality for the District. And unfortunately, that’s where it will stop.

DC has been playing an increasingly assertive role in facing down the hostile occupier sitting in the White House. Now we need to ask for a favor from those outside the District.

Employer lobbying groups continue to masquerade under the guise of defending worker’s rights.

Some of [what happens in ANCs] is minutiae that you may not be interested in, but it is the real nuts-and-bolts of self-governance at work.

To understand the roots of mass incarceration and warrior-style policing in DC we must start with a profound social fact: In the years preceding and during our punishment binge, black communities were devastated by historically unprecedented levels of crime and violence.

Every significant development in the history of the district has had a racial component. This is a city whose very existence is steeped in racial geography.

If Puerto Rico is cursed by federal Washington's indifference and neglect, the District of Columbia has the opposite problem: suffocating micromanagement

Even as cities across the country declare themselves as sanctuaries, DC has come under special scrutiny due to its colonial status.

DC residents can't appeal to a member of Congress to stop a Trump nominee. So stop asking us...