The District of Columbia – From the Oldest Colony to the 51st State?

On a warm evening in early April, a rally on Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill took a turn for the dramatic when protestors surged into Constitution Avenue, blocking rush-hour traffic. U.S. Capitol police arrested 41 of the demonstrators, among them District of Columbia Mayor Vince Gray and six member of the DC Council.

Protests in Washington are a common sight, but one featuring the arrest of much of the city’s elected leadership is not. Their grievance: As part of the deal to prevent a shutdown of the federal government, Congress – with the acquiescence of President Obama – had just banned the District from using its own money to pay for abortions for low-income women, and had revived a private-school voucher program that many local officials and residents opposed.

Stand Up!/Free DC! Awarded Diverse City Grant!

The Diverse City Fund Posted on November 28, 2011 by admin

Last week, the newly-created Diverse City Fund awarded $45,000 in grants, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, to twenty-three grassroots organizations working in D.C.’s communities of color. The grant recipients focus on “housing, media, sexuality and gender equality, urban gardens, and more,” according to a press release from the “DC Fund.”

DC Democracy Essay Contest for DC School Students

The D.C. Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative in partnership with the city's public libraries is sponsoring an essay contest. The theme, "As a citizen of D.C., what does democracy mean to me?,"

All District public school students in grades 5 through 12 are eligible, with a winner picked in each grade level.

See the entire article here: Essay contest asks D.C. students to ponder democracy
By Lisa Gartner, The Washington Examiner

Stand Up!'s Anise Jenkins and Councilmember Michael A. Brown on local Fox 5 TV

Renewed Campaign to Gain DC Statehood
Anise Jenkins of Stand Up! and Councilmember Michael A. Brown on Fox 5 TV D.C. council member Michael Brown and Anise Jenkins from the "Free DC" movement appeared on local Fox TV to discuss DC statehood. For more info, go to:

http://www.statehooddc.com/

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Fights Worth Fighting

The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing--for the sheer fun and joy of it--to go right ahead and fight, knowing you're going to lose. You mustn't feel like a martyr. You've got to enjoy it.

Journalist I. F. "Izzy" Stone

Free DC! - Statehood Now!