Eleanor Holmes Norton: “D.C. makes a big deal of Emancipation Day. That is the day that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the Nation's Capital…”

“D.C. makes a big deal of Emancipation Day. That is the day that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the Nation's Capital 9 months before the Emancipation Proclamation freed the rest. You will forgive us if we say that it is hardly enough that more than 150 years later, the residents of your Nation's Capital, White and Black, are number one in Federal taxes paid to support this Republic but have no final vote, like the vote just cast in this House on the House floor, and no Senators whatsoever. Emancipation Day will mark the day when we will celebrate H.R. 51 to make the District of Columbia the 51st State. Lincoln freed the slaves in the District of Columbia. Congress must pass H.R. 51 to make freedom mean equality for the residents of your Nation's Capital with all other Americans. ____________________”