D.C. Wins Home Rule
Learn how leaders from the civil rights movement helped to win self-government in D.C. in the new exhibit at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
"What have the people of the District done that they should be excluded from the privileges of the ballot box?"
—Frederick Douglass, quoted at his home in Anacostia, 1895
Since the earliest days of our nation, residents of the capital city have fought for the right to self-government, also known as home rule. The Constitution gives Congress, not D.C. citizens, control over Washington, D.C.
Barred! (c. 1900-1948) by Clifford Berryman Cartoon CollectionDC Public Library
Cartoon by Clifford Berryman, c. 1900-1948
Illustration from Harper’s Weekly showing Black citizens voting in Georgetown election (1967) by Courtesy of the Library of CongressDC Public Library
Illustration from Harper's Weekly, 1867
For most of the nineteenth century, Congress allowed D.C. a degree of freedom. Residents elected their own local government officials. Yet only white, male landowners had the right to vote. In 1867, however, Congress granted Black men the right to vote in D.C. elections.
Illustration from Harper's Weekly, 1867
This illustration, from 1867, shows white leaders preparing to take away suffrage for the District of Columbia as Black men take to the polls.
The Fifteenth Amendment and its results (1870) by Drawn by G.F. Kahl.; E. Sachse & Co., lithographer.DC Public Library
The Fifteenth Amendment and its results, 1870
Following the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted Black men the right to vote across the country, D.C’s white leadership and Congress became fearful of Black Washingtonians’ growing political power.
In a statement in his newspaper, The New National Era, (shown at right), Frederick Douglass observed: “...the old fogies are opposed to negro suffrage; and as they cannot withdraw it, they seek to diminish, if not destroy, the opportunities for its exercise.”
In 1874, Congress took D.C. Home Rule away.
Commissioners of the District of Columbia (1926-08-03) by Courtesy of the Library of CongressDC Public Library
Commissioners of the District of Columbia, 1926
For decades to come, the city would be managed by three federally appointed Commissioners, and all decisions were ratified by Congress.
In 1957, D.C. became a majority Black city. Yet on the House and Senate District Committees, southern segregationists such as Rep. John McMillan, a South Carolina Democrat, maintained control of the city's budget and laws.
In the words of one resident:
“White business, white political power, white everything ruled the city. The city was like a plantation, we didn’t have elections, no mayor, no city power, we couldn’t vote.”
Children protest outside a church (1960) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
Children protest outside a church, 1960
Washingtonians fought unsuccessfully for home rule for decades, as can be seen in the clippings from local newspapers seen here. Between 1948 and 1964, five different bills were introduced and failed in Congress. | Dig Deeper: With a library card, issues of The Washington Star and many other newspapers may be accessed using the Library’s online databases.
D.C. delegation to the March on Washington (August 28, 1963) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
D.C. Delegation to the March on Washington, 1963
By this time, civil rights leaders in D.C. saw home rule as central to the struggle for citizenship. After turning out by the thousands for the March on Washington to support Black voting rights across the country, they couldn't vote in their home city.
Dr. King leads D.C. Home Rule march (August 5, 1965) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
1965: Dr. King leads a D.C. Home Rule march
In 1965, D.C. leaders wrote to their friend and ally, Dr. King, to recruit him for their cause. King spent three days in D.C., meeting with community leaders and leading rallies in support of racial justice and D.C. Home Rule.
Learn more in the video D.C. & King: Home Rule.
Free D.C. Protesters (1966) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
1966: Building Pressure
New leaders—including Marion Barry, founder of the Free D.C. movement, Julius Hobson, and comedian/activist Dick Gregory—shook up the status quo and inspired citizens to protest D.C.’s status in many ways, from street protests to public hearings.
Excellence in Education—Charles Cassell (1968) by Courtesy of the Stovall FamilyDC Public Library
1968: School Board Election
Congress granted Washingtonians the right to vote for their Board of Education, the first local election in nearly a century. Notable activists such as Charles Cassell joined the race; artists Lloyd McNeill and Lou Stovall created this poster to support his campaign.
Walter Washington's swearing-in ceremony (September 28, 1967) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
1967: Johnson reorganizes D.C. government
To increase local control over D.C.’s affairs, President Lyndon Johnson appoints Walter Washington as Mayor-Commissioner and appoints a nine-member Council. D.C. becomes the first U.S. city with a Black chief executive.
Walter Fauntroy campaigning for office with Clifford Alexander and Coretta Scott King (1971) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
1971: Nonvoting Delegate
The District of Columbia Delegate Act re-instituted a nonvoting Delegate to represent the nation’s capital in the House of Representatives. With support from civil rights allies including Coretta Scott King, Walter Fauntroy was elected and held the position for three decades.
Walter Washington at a Home Rule Rally outside the District building (1973) by Washington Star Collection © Washington PostDC Public Library
1974: Home Rule election
D.C. elected its local government for the first time in more than 100 years. Walter E. Washington was elected Mayor, and longtime civil rights and anti-poverty activists, almost all of them Black, were elected to the D.C. Council.
Following the increased activism of the mid-1960s, D.C. civil rights leaders would succeed. In 1973, Congress finally passed the Home Rule Act. And in 1974, after nearly 100 years under the rule of Congress, residents elected their own mayor and council members.
Home rule was an important essential step towards toward achieving full citizenship for D.C. residents, a fight that continues today.
Content for this online exhibit was created by the DC Public Library Exhibits Team
Learn more about the issues that Dr. King cared about in the Library's new permanent exhibit, Up from the People: Protest and Change in D.C., on view at The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.
You can also learn more about D.C activists whose work converged with Dr. King's local legacy in these online exhibits:
A Revolution of Values
A Library Named for Dr. King
Everybody's Got a Right to Live: The Poor People's Campaign
Marion Barry: Mayor for Life
D.C. & King: The Story Behind the Films
This exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the DC Public Library Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibit do not represent the views of any funding organizations.
