Mayor Adrian Fenty and supporters of D.C. voting rights on Tuesday unfurled a banner outside city hall urging District residents to march on the U.S. Capitol next week in support of enfranchisement in the House of Representatives.
The sign, which urges participation in Monday’s march and rally, hangs over the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance to the John A. Wilson Building. Another banner hung outside One Judiciary Square, the District government’s largest office building.
“I think it’s safe to say residents of the District of Columbia have a real senseof urgency,” Fenty said. “Their patience has grown thin and we’re looking very forward to this march.”
The two banners cost less than $800.
Instead of a parade to honor Emancipation Day, an official D.C. holiday established to honor President Lincoln freeing the District’s slaves, Fenty this year opted to focus the day’s events on voting rights. D.C. Vote, the lead voting rights advocacy organization, has distributed 50,000 pieces of literature and is running television and radio advertisements. The city is spreading the word through fliers and messages on thousands of city employees’ paychecks.
District leaders hope the march, which kicks off at 3 p.m. in Freedom Plaza across from the Wilson Building, will garner national attention for the movement.
“The struggle for visibility is critical to the struggle for voting rights,” D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson said.
A bill to grant the District a vote in the House awaits House action. Democratic leadership last month pulled it from the floor after Republicans attached an amendment that would have overturned the city’s strict gun ban.
Though the measure is expected to win House approval in a matter of weeks, it will face significant opposition in the Senate and a threatened presidential veto.
