Norton to Appear in “Un-Natural State” Documentary and on D.C. Voting Rights Panel, Saturday

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will participate in a panel discussion on District of Columbia voting rights after the screening of "Un-Natural State" at the Decade of Docs in Our City film festival, tomorrow, Saturday, October 18, at 5:00 p.m. at the U.S. Navy Memorial Burke Theater at 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Norton plays a prominent role in the 2009 documentary, which focuses on D.C.'s lack of full and equal representation. She will be joined on the panel by Producer Brad Mendelsohn, Director Kirk Mangels, former D.C. shadow representative Mike Panetta, and American University philosophy professor Jeffrey Reiman. According to event organizers, the festival will feature documentaries that highlight the District's communities, cultures and lives. The voting rights film will be the centerpiece of the festival.

"Tomorrow's screening and panel discussion are excellent examples of how culture and the arts are furthering our movement for equality and D.C. statehood," Norton said. "I encourage residents and non-residents alike to come to the U.S. Navy Memorial Burke Theater to watch this documentary on D.C. voting rights to fully understand the everyday plight of District residents in our so-called democracy."

Although the right to vote on the House floor in the Committee of the Whole, which Norton first won in the 103rd Congress but lost when Republicans gained the majority, was approved by the federal courts, Norton continues without a vote to get bills enacted into law – passing more than any other House Democrat this Congress – successfully fighting attacks on home rule and getting significant new support for D.C. statehood.

Norton got the only House vote on statehood, in 1993, not long after being elected to Congress. Almost two-thirds of the Democrats and one Republican voted for the bill, giving it a strong start, but the Democrats lost the House majority in the next Congress. Since that vote, Norton was able to get the D.C. House Voting Rights Act through the House in 2007 and the Senate in 2009, which would have given D.C. a voting House member, had it not been derailed by a National Rifle Association-backed amendment that would have wiped out D.C.'s gun safety laws.

More information about the festival can be found at https://www.decadeofdocsinourcity.com.