Why Washington DC Should be Our 51st State

Has this ever happened to you? You start to hear about an upcoming get-together -- a birthday party among your classmates. Or someone in your family is getting married. Or your co-workers are organizing some celebration. They're making plans, they're all excited, and you expect to hear the details about when it is, and where...

But wait! You never get the invitation! What the -- ! How come you're being excluded? You thought you were part of the group but turns out you're ... not?

If you've ever had this experience then you know how Washington DC residents feel.

In Washington DC, 700,000 American citizens work, live, run businesses, serve in the military, and pay their taxes. Reportedly they pay more in federal taxes per capita than citizens of any other state. They are not criminals. Yet they have no votes in Congress and they cannot vote for President.

When I found out about this, I couldn't believe it.

That's more people than live in Albuquerque. That's more people than live in the entire state of Wyoming. Or the state of Vermont.

Ironically, they have an up-close view of democracy. They are right there in the capitol of the Federal government.

But DC residents have no voice in national debates and elections that affect all our lives.

That is not right, and it needs to change.

The last state

I'm from Hawaii, which was the last state to be admitted to the Union. Maybe that makes statehood is more meaningful. Hawaii became a state in 1959. It's one of the few states in which Admission day is a holiday.

It took 40 years of lobbying for Hawaii to become a state. At the time, there were celebrations in the streets, full page headlines in the papers. Confetti filled the air, bells rang, standing ovations -- people were ecstatic to finally be equal citizens of the United States.

When you think about the case for Hawaii, it seems very much less likely to have become a state, because Hawaii is so much further away from the rest of the mainland U.S. And yet, Hawaii is a state and Washington DC is not.

There are so many benefits to being part of the United States you can see why 86% of Washington DC residents voted for statehood in 2016. They did not want their land to become incorporated into Maryland and Virginia, they wanted to be their own separate 51st state.

How this would happen

In January, Congress passed HR 51. If the Senate passed it, President Biden would sign it. The federal enclave would shrink to an area containing the White House, the National Mall, the monuments, and the Senate complex. The residential and commercial areas would be a new state called the Washington Douglass Commonwealth, in honor of Frederick Douglass. We would get a new member of Congress and two new Senators, who would represent the new state, and DC residents would finally have a say in their own government.

How you can help make this happen

You can promote the idea of Washington DC statehood by posting about it to social media.

You can call your senator and urge them to support passing statehood for Washington DC.

You can visit statehood.dc.gov and sign up for the mailing list.

As a graphic designer, here's the thing I really cared about: How would the 51 star flag look? The answer is, there isn't much difference. I think it looks great.

Just like with admitting Hawaii to the union, I think Washington DC should be a state, and then they should throw a party. We can all celebrate together and there will be no one with their nose pressed to the window, wondering "How come we were left out?"

This essay was based on a presentation by DC Democratic Party Chair Charles E. Wilson.