With already limited home rule, the conversation of District statehood became a nationwide conversation once President Donald Trump (R) issued an order temporarily taking over the Metropolitan Police Department. Between the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza, Republican efforts to overturn the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973 and the August federal law enforcement surge, D.C. residents and activists are mobilizing in full force to push toward true equity and justice for all Washingtonians.
Rep. Oye Owolewa (D-D.C.)
“In 2026, I’ll continue to fight for D.C. statehood by galvanizing all of the energy directed towards protecting D.C.’s home rule against Trump’s authoritarian White House administration and directing that towards D.C. statehood. I’ll make sure congressmembers and senators who say they support us introduce D.C. Admissions legislation. I’ll also work with activists, organizations and social media influencers to broadcast our fight for D.C. statehood across America on social media and podcasts.”
Kelsye Adams, founder of Free DC and executive director of Long Live Go-Go
“In 2026, Free DC is organizing to stop fascism at the gates—building rapid-response infrastructure, mass mobilization, and political education to block congressional attacks on DC home rule and defend Black self-governance in the nation’s capital.”
“In 2026, Long Live GoGo is carrying D.C. culture from U Street to Miami—activating spaces like Art Basel to turn Go-Go, art, and public storytelling into a national demand for D.C. statehood. Wherever the culture travels, the fight for self-determination goes with it.”
Ty Hobson-Powell, activist and author
“We’re gonna have to make a lot of crucial decisions, critical decisions about programs, about how to keep a city functioning for over 700,000 Washingtonians. That is something that we can’t take lightly…We should use that sense of attention that we have to inform how we move, just moving in togetherness, caring more about each other, understanding how difficult life is and is about to be, creating more community based structures that act as that supportive infrastructure to fill in the gaps that we know are going to exist with cuts that are sure to come, and really just making sure that we stand in unison.”