Researching DC Statehood

DC Statehood Webliographies

• DC Statehood, Yes We Can!, Ann Loikow. Uploaded documents include delivered testimony; many link back to original source
• The Statehood Papers, Sam Smith; online site related to Smith's 1991 publication of writings on statehood from the Progressive Review; see Worldcat.org for Smith's additional published titles

• Published presidential documents relating to DC Home Rule, The American President Project, University of California, Santa Barbara

Black Power in Washington, D.C., 1968-1998 -  George Derek Musgrove

• Authoritative site by the co-author of Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital

Chronicling America - Library of Congress

• A searchable database of digitized historic newspapers from 1836-1922. This resource includes 40 DC newspapers including The Evening Star and The Washington Times

DC Public Library Resources

• Dig DC

  Dig DC has selected digitized and born-digital items from the People's Archive at DC Public Library including newspapers photos, maps, audio and more documenting the history of Washington, DC. Relevant collections: 

  • The Clifford Berryman Cartoon Collection 

  • D.C. Last Colony: Voting Rights and Home Rule

  • Political Posters

  • Washington Free Press, 1967-1969

  • Washington City Paper

• Newspaper Databases (requires a DCPL library card number)

  • Washington Evening Star, 1852-1981

  • The Washington Post, Current and Historic

    1977-Present - Full-text electronic edition
    1877-1994 - Digitized version with full text searching of each page, individual articles and images.

  • Accessible Archives: A searchable collection of African American Newspapers from 19th-century that includes Washington DC resources.
• DC Statehood Movement Leaders Oral History Project (Schedule Appointment with the People's Archives to access to records)

DC Council Archived Hearings - Council of the District of Columbia

• Access hearings video from 2012 onwards

Lou Aronica (needs a Wikipedia page!)

• Garden Variety Activism by Laura Lang, Washington City Paper, March 31, 2000
• Interview: Aronica, Lou, Lessons of the Sixties: A history of local Washington, DC activism for peace and justice from 1960-1975: Oral history interviews (MS2388), Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University, April 25, 2014
• Does D.C. Have Home Rule Or ‘Home Fool’? by Martin Austermuhle, WAMU, January 9, 2015

Josephine Butler - Wikipedia page created May 2021

• Obituary, Josephine Butler Dies by J.Y. Smith, Washington Post, March 30, 1997
• Josephine Butler - Washington Parks and People
• Josephine Butler Parks Center - Wikipedia Page
• DC History Center collection, MS 0816, DC Statehood Party records, selected documents
• Republicans in District Disgruntled by Ben A. Franklin, The New York Times, October 24, 1984
• Council Race is a Tossup by Dorothy Gilliam, Washington Post, November 1, 1984 (Look at printed PDF)
• D.C. Council Moves to Make Statehood More Palatable by Douglas Stevenson, Washington Post, March 4, 1987 (Look at printed PDF)

Charles I. Cassell (needs a Wikipedia page!)

• Interview: Cassell, Charles, Lessons of the Sixties: A history of local Washington, DC activism for peace and justice from 1960-1975: Oral history interviews (MS2388), Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University, June 7, 2013
• Notebook Dreaming Of Jazz and Statehood by Sandra Evans, Washington Post, May 23, 1985

Walter Fauntroy - Wikipedia Page

• DC Statehood Fauntroy's Big Loss by Eric Pianin, Washington Post, November 12, 1987

Arturo Griffiths (needs a Wikipedia page!)

• DC Statehood Green Party Primary, Washington Post, September 7, 2000
• Statehood Green Part, Inauguration Protests, C-SPAN, December 21, 2000

• Arturo Griffiths interview, Mount Pleasant Riot Oral History Project, HumanitiesDC, DCPL DC Oral History Collaborative, January 4, 2018

• DC AfroLatino Caucus Founder Manuel Mendez Offers Ideas On How to Learn More About Afro-Latino History by Julienne Gage, Progress Report, February 4, 2020

• Oral History Interview with Arturo Griffiths and Lois Athey, Anacostia Community Museum, April 6, 2016

• Yasmin El Bakkali, 50, Dies, Washington Post, November 30, 2002 [Griffith's sister, provides some bio details]

• If You Can't Beat 'Em..., Garance Franke-Ruta, Washington City Paper, August 18, 2000

Julius Hobson - Wikipedia Page

• 'Statehood Is Far More Difficult’: The Struggle for D.C. Self-Determination, 1980–2017 by George Derek Musgrove. Washington History, Vol. 29, No 2, Fall 2017
• Civil Rights Tour: Protest - Julius Hobson, Iconoclast, DC Historic Sites, DC Preservation League
• Hobson Jumps Into Delegate Contest: Hobson to Run for Delegate as an Independent by Richard E. Prince, Washington Post, January 15, 1971 (Look at printed PDF)
• Hobson and Supporters Map Third Party Plans by Ivan C. Brandon, Washington Post, March 29, 1971 (Look at printed PDF)
• Hobson To Run for D.C. Council by Paul W. Valentine, Washington Post, February 21, 1974 (Look at printed PDF)
• Tucker, 2 Moores, Hobson Sr., Barry Lead City Council Race by Douglas B. Feaver and Megan Rosenfeld, Washington Post, November 6, 1974 (Look at printed PDF)
• D.C. Results Confirmed; Tally Still On: Winners Confirmed In District by Martha M. Hamilton, Washington Post, November 7, 1974 (Look at printed PDF)
• Incomplete Returns in District Vote, Washington Post, November 7, 1974 (Look at printed PDF)
• Mayor, Council Sworn In: D.C.'s Fight for Home Rule Is Recalled Elected Mayor, 13 Councilmen Take Oaths by LaBarbara Bowman, Washington Post, January 3, 1975 (Look at printed PDF)

Anise Jenkins - Wikipedia page created May 2021

• Anise Jenkins: Warrior for D.C. Statehood by James Wright, Washington Informer, March 3, 2021
• Meet the 'DC 41,' Arrested During Protest by Mike DeBonis, Washington Post, April 13, 2011
• Recognizing the 'DC 41,' Congressional Record, Vol. 157, No. 56, April 15, 2011
• Shadow Politics with Anise Jenkins, BBS Radio, January 13, 2019

Samuel Jordan (needs a Wikipedia page!)

• Testimony at the City Council’s Hearing on Statehood and Self-Determination, Samuel Jordan, May 13, 2009, via DC Watch
• Samuel Jordan on C-SPAN, January and December 1996
• CITIZEN JOURNALISM: D.C. Statehood fights for rights for District, Ann Loikow, Washington Times, May 27, 2009
• Speakers Biographies, Urban Institute, October 21, 2020
• White Men’s Roads thru Black Men’s Homes: Reflecting on DC’s Freeway Fight, Samuel Jordan and Martin Austermuhle, DC History Center, November 18, 2020

Lyndon B. Johnson - Wikipedia Page

• The Art of D.C. Politics: Broadsides, Banners, and Bumper Stickers by Faye Haskins. Washington History, Vol 12, No 2, Fall/Winter, 2000/2001
• The fight LBJ could not win: D.C. home rule, Karen Tumulty, Washington Post, May 21, 2014
• Search: Lyndon B. Johnson and "home rule," American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara

Franklin Kameny - Wikipedia Page

• Statehood Preamble Stresses D.C. Diversity by Paul W. Valentine, Washington Post, March 19. 1982
• Frank Kameny worked for D.C. statehood, too, Ann Loikow, Washington Post, 2011
• Statehood research files in the Frank Kameny Papers, Library of Congress

Hilda Mason - Wikipedia Page

• Interview: Hilda Mason Remembered, Lessons of the Sixties: A history of local Washington, DC activism for peace and justice from 1960-1975: Oral history interviews (MS2388), Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University, May 9, 2010
• Obituary, Hilda Mason, Washington Post, January 8-10, 2008
• DC History Center collection, MS 0816, DC Statehood Party records, selected documents
• Hilda Mason to Fill Hobson Council Seat: Mason Named to Hobson Council Seat by Juan Williams and Milton Coleman, Washington Post, April 3, 1977 (Look at printed PDF)
• Mason Leading Sizemore: City Council Election Hilda Mason Leading Barbara Sizemore for City Council Seat by Milton Coleman and Thomas Coleman, Washington Post, July 20, 1977 (Look at printed PDF)
• Mason Wins Council Seat In Final Tally: Vote Tops Sizemore 11,767-11,084 for 18-Month Tenure  by Thomas Morgan, Washington Post, July 27, 1977 (Look at printed PDF)
• Mendelson, Catania Win: Veteran Council Member Hilda Mason Is Ousted by David Montgomery, Washington Post, November 4, 1998 (Look at printed PDF)

Hector Rodriguez (needs a Wikipedia page!)

• DC Latinos Have Been An Essential Part of the DC Statehood Movement from Day One, DC Latino Caucus - includes a link to Rodriguez's testimony on statehood given to Congress in 1978
• Norton Invites Founder of Veterans United for D.C. Statehood as Her Guest for Biden Inauguration press release, Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, January 19, 2021
• Kent State alumnus invited to attend Biden inauguration after fighting for D.C. statehood by Zoe Blank, KentWired.com, February 25, 2021
• Interview with Hector Rodriguez, DC Statehood Today TV, August 2017
• D.C. veterans deserve political rights of statehood, activists say by Silvia Martelli, Medill News Service, November 11, 2019

Carlos Rosario - Wikipedia Page

• Obituary, Hispanic Leader Carlos Rosario Dies, by Joseph D. Whittaker, February 4, 1984

• Carlos Manuel Rosario by Amber N. Wiley, Washington History, 30-1 (2018). 

Barbara Lett Simmons - Wikipedia Page

• Obituary, Barbara Lett Simmons, 'faithless elector,' is dead at 85, Mike DeBonis, Washington Post, December 27, 2012

Sam Smith - Wikipedia Page

• The Statehood Papers: Writings by Sam Smith and Others
• Civil Rights Tour: Political Empowerment - DC Statehood Party, DC Historic Sites, DC Preservation League
• Statehood for the District of Columbia There Is No Other Course by Sam Smith, Washington Post, October 12, 1980
• DC Statehood: The first article advocating it by Sam Smith, DC Gazette, June 1970

Walter E. Washington - Wikipedia Page