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3 Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Anita Bonds
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8 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie
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13 Councilmember Matthew Frumin Councilmember Trayon White, Sr.
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18 Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
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23 Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Zachary Parker
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28 Councilmember Brooke Pinto Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
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35 A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
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38 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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42 To recognize the 51st anniversary of the enactment in Congress of Public Law 93-198, the
43 “District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act,” which granted the
44 residents of the District of Columbia limited self-government.
45
46 WHEREAS, Washington, D.C. was founded on July 16, 1790, as the permanent seat of
47 government of the United States, with Congress having the exclusive power over such territory;
48
49 WHEREAS, the “District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801” disenfranchised residents in lands
50 surrendered to the District by Maryland and Virginia, preventing those persons from either voting for
51 representation in Congress or organizing a unified local government;
52
53 WHEREAS, in the early 1800s, D.C. residents sought and achieved modest concessions in their
54 attempts to attain self-government, including the right, initially granted to white male property owners
55 only, to elect a mayor and a local council;
56
57 WHEREAS, the city of Alexandria was included as part of the District of Columbia from 1801
58 until Congress passed a retrocession act in 1847, returning Alexandria to Virginia’s jurisdiction;
59
60 WHEREAS, in 1867, against a presidential veto, the “District of Columbia Suffrage Act”
61 extended the right to vote to all males residing in the District, allowing African-American men to vote in
62 D.C. three years before the passage of the 15th amendment;
63
64 WHEREAS, by 1870, the population of the District of Columbia had grown to nearly 132,000
65 residents, with regional needs that outpaced the existing system of municipal governments as divided
66 between Georgetown, Alexandria, and Washington;
67
68 WHEREAS, in 1871, Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, abolishing
69 the office of mayor and vesting executive power in the office of a governor, to be appointed by the
70 president;
71
72 WHEREAS, Congress further restricted self-government in the District in 1874 by repealing
73 provisions of law providing for the election of an executive, a secretary, and a board of public works;
74
75 WHEREAS, in 1938, after a more than decade-long campaign by the Daughters of the American
76 Revolution, D.C. adopted its own flag, noting that the city deserved more than just a symbol of statehood;
77
78 WHEREAS, advocates for District statehood continued to raise the issue in Congress throughout
79 the 20th century, with six bills introduced between 1948 and 1966 alone;
80
81 WHEREAS, the 1970 District of Columbia Delegate Act allowed D.C. residents to elect one non-
82 voting delegate to the House of Representatives;
83
84 WHEREAS, William Fauntroy, elected as the first delegate to represent the District of Columbia,
85 launched a vigorous campaign advocating for home rule and statehood for the District;
86
87 WHEREAS, Representative Charles Diggs, a Michigan Democrat, worked diligently as the Chair
88 of the House District of Columbia Committee to build Congressional support for home rule;
89
90 WHEREAS, in 1973, Fauntroy and Diggs championed the passage of the District of Columbia
91 Home Rule Act, which established the Council of the District of Columbia and gave residents the right to
92 self-government for the first time in over 100 years;
93
94 WHEREAS, the District will celebrate the 51st anniversary of the passage of the District of
95 Columbia Home Rule Act on December 24th;
96
97 WHEREAS, D.C.’s elected representatives to Congress still do not have the power to vote on
98 final passage of legislation, including on legislation directly affecting the District;
99
100 WHEREAS, despite paying more in federal income taxes than 22 states, serving the military and
101 on federal juries, and bearing all the other responsibilities of citizenship, D.C. residents still do not have
102 full rights to self-government and representation in Congress;
103
104 WHEREAS, as of November 2024, the District of Columbia has designated numerous official
105 state symbols, including a state bird, a state dinosaur, a state flower, a state rock, and, most recently, a
106 state amphibian in the form of the red-backed salamander, whose stripes emulate the D.C. flag;
107
108 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that the Council of the
109 District of Columbia recognizes the 51st anniversary of the enactment in Congress of Public Law 93-198,
110 the “District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act.”
111
112 Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “51st Anniversary of the Enactment of the Home Rule
113 Act Recognition Resolution of 2024.”
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115 Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the
116 District of Columbia Register.
117