1
_____________________________ _______________________________ 2
Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Anita Bonds 3
4
5
6
_____________________________ _______________________________ 7
Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie 8
9
10
11
____________________________ _______________________________ 12
Councilmember Matthew Frumin C ouncilmember Trayon White, Sr. 13
14
15
16
_____________________________ _______________________________ 17
Councilmember Charles Allen Counc ilmember Janeese Lewis George 18
19
20
21
_____________________________ _______________________________ 22
Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Zachary Parker 23
24
25
26
_____________________________ _______________________________ 27
Councilmember Brooke Pinto Counc ilmember Brianne K. Nadeau 28
29
30
31
32
33
34
A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 35
__________ 36
37
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 38
__________ 39
40
41
To recognize the 51
st
anniversary of the enactment in Congress of Public Law 93-198, the 42
“District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act,” which granted the 43
residents of the District of Columbia limited self-government. 44
45
WHEREAS, Washington, D.C. was founded on July 16, 1790, as the permanent seat of 46
government of the United States, with Congress having the exclusive power over such territory; 47
48 WHEREAS, the “District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801” disenfranchised residents in lands 49
surrendered to the District by Maryland and Virginia, preventing those persons from either voting for 50
representation in Congress or organizing a unified local government; 51
52
WHEREAS, in the early 1800s, D.C. residents sought and achieved modest concessions in their 53
attempts to attain self-government, including the right, initially granted to white male property owners 54
only, to elect a mayor and a local council; 55
56
WHEREAS, the city of Alexandria was included as part of the District of Columbia from 1801 57
until Congress passed a retrocession act in 1847, returning Alexandria to Virginia’s jurisdiction; 58
59
WHEREAS, in 1867, against a presidential veto, the “District of Columbia Suffrage Act” 60
extended the right to vote to all males residing in the District, allowing African-American men to vote in 61
D.C. three years before the passage of the 15
th
amendment; 62
63
WHEREAS, by 1870, the population of the District of Columbia had grown to nearly 132,000 64
residents, with regional needs that outpaced the existing system of municipal governments as divided 65
between Georgetown, Alexandria, and Washington; 66
67
WHEREAS, in 1871, Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, abolishing 68
the office of mayor and vesting executive power in the office of a governor, to be appointed by the 69
president; 70
71
WHEREAS, Congress further restricted self-government in the District in 1874 by repealing 72
provisions of law providing for the election of an executive, a secretary, and a board of public works; 73
74
WHEREAS, in 1938, after a more than decade-long campaign by the Daughters of the American 75
Revolution, D.C. adopted its own flag, noting that the city deserved more than just a symbol of statehood; 76
77
WHEREAS, advocates for District statehood continued to raise the issue in Congress throughout 78
the 20
th
century, with six bills introduced between 1948 and 1966 alone; 79
80
WHEREAS, the 1970 District of Columbia Delegate Act allowed D.C. residents to elect one non-81
voting delegate to the House of Representatives; 82
83
WHEREAS, William Fauntroy, elected as the first delegate to represent the District of Columbia, 84
launched a vigorous campaign advocating for home rule and statehood for the District; 85
86
WHEREAS, Representative Charles Diggs, a Michigan Democrat, worked diligently as the Chair 87
of the House District of Columbia Committee to build Congressional support for home rule; 88
89
WHEREAS, in 1973, Fauntroy and Diggs championed the passage of the District of Columbia 90
Home Rule Act, which established the Council of the District of Columbia and gave residents the right to 91
self-government for the first time in over 100 years; 92
93
WHEREAS, the District will celebrate the 51
st
anniversary of the passage of the District of 94
Columbia Home Rule Act on December 24
th
; 95
96
WHEREAS, D.C.’s elected representatives to Congress still do not have the power to vote on 97
final passage of legislation, including on legislation directly affecting the District; 98
99 WHEREAS, despite paying more in federal income taxes than 22 states, serving the military and 100
on federal juries, and bearing all the other responsibilities of citizenship, D.C. residents still do not have 101
full rights to self-government and representation in Congress; 102
103
WHEREAS, as of November 2024, the District of Columbia has designated numerous official 104
state symbols, including a state bird, a state dinosaur, a state flower, a state rock, and, most recently, a 105
state amphibian in the form of the red-backed salamander, whose stripes emulate the D.C. flag; 106
107
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRIC T OF COLUMBIA, that the Council of the 108
District of Columbia recognizes the 51
st
anniversary of the enactment in Congress of Public Law 93-198, 109
the “District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act.” 110
111
Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “51
st
Anniversary of the Enactment of the Home Rule 112
Act Recognition Resolution of 2024.” 113
114
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the 115
District of Columbia Register. 116
117