Congressional Committee Grills D.C. Officials on Statehood, Public Safety Issues

Published in The Washington Informer (March 29, 2023)

“In the hours leading to the hearing, members of the #HandsOffDC coalition took to the streets on Wednesday morning and affirmed their commitment to protecting District Home Rule and advancing the ongoing movement for D.C. statehood.

After the group marched along Pennsylvania Avenue and past the Cannon House Office Building, they gathered on the front steps of Rayburn House Office Building where Makia Green, a #HandsOffDC member and core organizer with Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, called the congressional hearing an overt attempt to disenfranchise Black District residents.

“We have just marched to let folks know, from D.C., to the capital city to the federal city, that we are D.C. and we are entering into this building with a hearing where folks who don’t vote, eat or live here and don’t know you and our community and don’t keep us safe, are trying to meddle in our affairs,” Green said. “This isn’t about safety. It’s about right-wing extremism vying for power in Black-led cities.”

#HandsOffDC coalition members spent much of Wednesday listening to the hearing or standing outside the Elijah Cummings Room of the Rayburn House Office Building patiently waiting to speak to congressmen and women walking through the halls.”