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Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the display of U.S. flags that feature 51 stars along Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday in honor of Flag Day, marking the latest push from city leaders for Washington, D.C., to gain statehood.
The altered flags are meant to represent the roughly 700,000 residents living in the district who “demand to be recognized,” Bowser said. The decision is the latest push for statehood after the House passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act last year, with the mayor calling on the Senate to follow suit.
“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,” Bowser said. “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.”
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Bowser has previously hung flags with 51 stars throughout the district, placing them outside the Black Lives Matter Plaza next to the White House on March 22, 2021, as the House held committee hearings on legislation that would grant statehood to the district.
The push for statehood entered the modern-day mainstream in 1980 after decades of failed proposals to grant the district equal voting representation in Congress. However, the fight has been reignited in the last few months, with Democrats, who are largely in favor of the measure, enjoying unilateral control over the federal government.
Local lawmakers have also signaled the Supreme Court’s expected reversal of Roe v. Wade is a catalyst for the recent statehood push, saying the district has little power to ensure local access to abortion if Republicans take control in November.
“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,” Bowser said. “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.”
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The altered flags made their debut on Tuesday to coincide with Flag Day, a holiday established to commemorate the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress officially adopted the design of the U.S. flag. Since then, the stars on the flag have been periodically updated to reflect the number of states in the country. The last time the U.S. added a star to the flag was in 1960 after Hawaii became a state on Aug. 21, 1959.
It’s not clear how long the 51-star flags will stay up on Pennsylvania Avenue.
