WASHINGTON — Tuesday is Flag Day. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is using the occasion to send a message.
On Monday, she directed that several 51-star flags be hung along Pennsylvania Avenue in support of D.C. statehood.
In a statement, the mayor said these flags should serve as a reminder to Congress and the nation that the 700,000 tax-paying American citizens living in D.C. demand to be recognized.
Her full statement is below:
“I directed our team to hang 51-star flags along Pennsylvania Avenue as a reminder to Congress and the nation that the 700,000 tax-paying American citizens living in Washington, DC demand to be recognized. On Flag Day, we celebrate American ideals, American history, and American liberty. But the very foundation of those ideals, and the basis for our liberty, is representation. DC’s disenfranchisement is a stain on American democracy – a 220-year-old wrong that demands to be righted. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed the Washington, DC Admission Act, and now the U.S. Senate must do the same.
“As Americans nationwide brace for a decision on the future of Roe v. Wade, we are also reminded that DC’s disenfranchisement impacts not just Americans living in DC, but Americans nationwide who share our values. While the stakes are even higher for Washingtonians, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the majority of Americans who believe in a woman’s right to choose. We also stand shoulder to shoulder with the majority of Americans demanding common sense gun reforms, and with the majority of Americans who want to build a more inclusive democracy.
“We are at an inflection point for American democracy, and it is within the Senate’s power to do the right thing, embrace representation, and move DC statehood forward to the President’s desk.”
Flag Day is celebrated on June 14, on the anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official U.S. flag in 1777.