The Dark Thought About Washington, DC Statehood Still Prevails

E. Ablorh-Odjidja

September 19, 2019

Like vistas that have followed since the Civil Rights movement, the Black population will shrink from the political limelight in Washington D.C, once statehood is achieved.

However, the drive for statehood is on.  Democrats and Black residents want to turn the city into a state.  The question is not who wants it more, but for whom it will benefit most.

As of now, Blacks, entirely Democrats, hold political power in this city.  The drive for statehood is being attributed to Black empowerment.

We have heard the cry before, ever since the Civil Rights marches. 

We face all the risks, ramrod our causes through the racial barriers, but once the gates come down, others rush in and head for the gains, at the expense of the Black interest.

"Despite the gains in participation and representation,” says Nicholas Stephanolpoulos in his article The False Promise of Black Political Representation, “blacks continue to fare worse than whites in converting their policy preferences into law.”

That elusive promise for power has been the dark thought out there.  The bait and switch positions that Blacks are put into.  It is happening again in the move to turn Washington, DC into a statehood.

Considering that it was President L. B. Johnson who once asserted that “These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us,” the reason for the illusiveness of power for our follow Black citizens can be understood clearly.

Johnson said this to Senator Richard Russell, a fellow Democrat, during the fight for a compromise to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

There and then the racist sentiment was expressed.  And it is still with us today.  Whether the statehood, once gained, will belong to Blacks cannot be a guessing game from this point.

But the Black leadership class in Washington, DC today, wants statehood so badly now.  Statehood, we know, comes with political prestige, along with the partisan benefits which they want for themselves. 

The difficult part is why this leadership has yet to come to grips with the awareness that the power they seek is mostly sought by Democrats as a tool for liberal causes, which have nothing to do with Black power.  This has been the motive that drives the Democrat party on Civil Rights issues.

Historically, Washington, D. C has been a Federal city.  It was “officially founded in 1790 after both Maryland and Virginia ceded land to this new district, to be distinct and distinguished from the rest of the states,” says Washington, DC history information web page.

With only a land area of 68.25 square, this federal city DC has been distinct and welcoming to Blacks ever since slavery. 

Should the drive for statehood be successful, DC would be the smallest state in the US, with two senators; a goal that the entire Democrat party seeks without reservation.

Maryland and Virginia, original owners of the land, should want the land back but will be happy to cede DC for statehood. 

And as the 51st state, it would belong to Democrats.  Herein lies the power of the politics being played and the emptiness of the promises being made to the Black prestige seekers in the District.

Maryland and Virginia are Democrat states, called the Blue States in the political parlance of the United State.  And they are currently ruled by Democrats.  The stars are, therefore, better aligned for the change to DC Statehood.

To add DC to the mix of states will be a trifecta of a victory come true for all Democrats.  Two easy Senate seats pick but and assurance for nationwide ideological dominance. 

This huge victory can be achieved with the District as the strategic point.  And it is assured on the back of the Black vote, where citizens vote 95% for the Democrat party and have persistently done so in past elections.

This is the reality of Black politics, where the entire black ethnic population is considered a very safe political bet for Democrats. In return, this community gains nothing substantial.

The gains have not been commensurate for Black folks for the huge support this community has given to Democrats for decades. But this is the dilemma that Black leadership has yet to get “woke” to. 

The city’s mayor, Ms. Bowser, a Black Democrat, is not bothered.  She wants DC statehood at all costs.  And on Monday, September 16, 2019, she launched the 51st state flag for the district.

As the bill for statehood is presented to Congress, there is the certainty that it will pass in the Democrat-controlled House.  But in the Senate, where Republicans hold the majority, it is another matter.

But should the bill pass, the victory will still be hollow for Blacks.  The lesson is in the presidency of Barrack Obama, the first Black to hold office: no tangible gains.  Rather, other groups leapfrogged over Blacks for the gains.

And if the lesson from Obama is not enough, there are others - the shrinkages seen in Black Civil Rights gains to date should help.

According to Jason Riley, in his article “Why Obama’s presidency didn’t lead to black progress” for the New York Post in January 2017:

“Without taking anything away from Barack Obama’s .... the reality is that there was little reason to believe that a black president was the answer to racial inequities or the problems of the black poor,” wrote Jason Riley

The reality is statehood for DC would not make any difference.  And should it happen who out there would bet that DC will remain a Black majority city for long? 

Other cities with Black majority populations and governments controlled by Blacks in the past didn’t remain demographically black for long.

“Philadelphia, Detroit, Charlotte, Jacksonville, and New Orleans all flipped from Black to white mayors in the past five years…. “ Wrote Daniel Malloy, in an article for OZY, a web magazine, August 31, 2017.

As described by Malloy white mayors replacing “Black ones in America’s biggest cities.”  It happened because of erosions in Black cities’ population bases.

When DC’s statehood happens and the status of the city becomes more rich, elevated, fanciful and gentrification prone, others would come in.

The phenomenon has already started.

“These days, D.C is more of a caramel-latte-colored city. While the black population reached as high as 71 percent in the 1970 census, it now stands at 47 percent.“ How Gentrification Destroys Black Voting Power,” written by Michael Harriot. How Gentrification Destroys Black Voting Power (theroot.com)

Already, Latino and Asian-American populations are on the rise.  And they do constitute separate political bases, all within the diversity groups courted by Democrats. 

These groups have different historical experiences than Blacks and will naturally compete with Blacks in DC.  And the gains, as always, will be theirs.  Blacks just led the fight for victory.

Whites will come to Washington, DC; the city and also a magnet for wealth.  Gentrification of neighborhoods and properties will not be far behind.  Low-cost housing in DC would go to the highest bidder, and the disadvantaged and mostly Blacks will be pushed out. 

South West, Washington, D.C, once an enclave for Blacks, has already fallen into the phenomena of gentrification.

Whether DC Mayor Bowser and colleagues have given any thought to the idea that the current constituency will be washed out with the coming of statehood is still open to conjecture.  But it is time for them to consider that prestige they seek with the statehood venture will be ephemeral.

The Democrat Party, the decider of destinies of Black politicians to date, will not be there for them when the other constituencies take over the majority in the District.

“Despite their gains in participation and representation, blacks continue to fare worse than whites in converting their policy preferences into law,” again says Nicholas Stephanolpoulos.

President Johnson’s dark thought “These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us” still prevails in America.  It must come to mind when a prize like the state of District of Columbia comes insight.

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publisher www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, September 19, 2019

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