Norton Praises Singing Demonstration of Last Week Tonight’s D.C. Statehood Song by D.C. Kids at Capitol, This Sunday

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today applauded a group of Capitol Hill parents whose children and others from around the city will perform a "sing-in" in front of the U.S. Capitol to support equal voting rights and statehood for the District of Columbia on Sunday, August 9, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. The children will sing an amended version of the "50 U.S. States" song, performed on this past Sunday's hilarious episode of HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where the host, John Oliver, and a bunch of kids made fun of Congress for denying D.C. residents their rights and statehood. The parents who led the successful battle for children to sled on Capitol Hill (#SledFreeOrDie) have now decided to take their sledding victory to a higher level. Taking on responsibility of those who win political fights, the parents, in their call for residents to join them, said, "As awesomely as John Oliver put it, it's up to us, the residents of the District of Columbia to keep this fight going. And what better way than embracing the song at the end of it?"

Norton said, "John Oliver gave D.C. statehood a priceless national platform that D.C. statehood advocates desperately need. These D.C. parents and their kids will be the first to use last Sunday's momentum to organize and make their own pitch for D.C. statehood. They are highlighting the many opportunities John Oliver's gift to D.C. offers residents for the taking."