Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A history on democracy and representation concerning the citizens of Washington, DC (District of Columbia)

From a New York Times article, which includes reader comments --- for details, please read the entire article.
"On March 29, 1961, the states completed ratification of the 23rd Amendment, which gave residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections. The anniversary is worth remembering, both because the amendment was an important step toward full political equality for citizens of the nation’s capital and because it was frustratingly incomplete.
A half-century later, the District of Columbia’s population, estimated in the new census at 601,723, is larger than Wyoming’s and only slightly smaller than Vermont’s. Yet Washingtonians still have no meaningful voice in Congress and lack full authority over their own affairs.
Washington is an undemocratic anomaly, despite the grand ideals of equal rights carved into the city’s stone monuments. Its second-class citizenship is a legacy of racial injustice and, more recently, partisanship in Congress."
A history of the state of democracy for the permanent residents of Washington, D.C.

Thanks to @blackvoices on Twitter for the story.

Remember, "voting turnout and activism means spreading the word!"

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