Thousands of people gathered in Washington, DC on Monday for the Demand the Vote March on the US Capitol. The march, which was organized by DC Vote and the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, was part of a continued campaign to secure full voting representation in Congress for the District of Columbia.
According to organizers, the thousands of people who filled several blocks on Pennsylvania Avenue made up the largest voting rights demonstration in decades. The march began at Freedom Plaza, where recently elected Mayor Adrian Fenty urged the crowd to continue supporting the DC Voting Rights Act (H.R. 1433), which would give the District of Columbia its first voting member in congress. During his remarks, Mayor Fenty stated that the DC Voting Rights Act — introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in early March) — ensures every American equal representation in Congress.
At the Capitol Reflecting Pool, Delegate Norton echoed Mayor Fenty’s remarks by insisting that taxation without representation is a violation of the civil liberties of every DC citizen. Holmes added that the time for complicity has passed, and that DC residents must now demand what is a fundamental right of every tax-paying American.
House Democrats are expected to approve H.R. 1433 in the coming week.
