D.C. Struggles Come to Life in New Book
The cartoon is as painful as it is poignant. Santa Claus stands above the U.S. Capitol, holding a large bag of gifts in one hand and a piece of paper bearing the word "Vote" in the other. The caption read, "It's in the bag!" The cartoon appeared on a flier distributed by the District of Columbia Suffrage Committee in 1947, as District residents advocated for a plan in Congress that would grant them just the smallest amount of local control over their own affairs. And just like we have been many a times, they were let down that Christmas.
The cartoon is one of hundreds of photographs and editorial cartoons in Mark S. Greek's new book, Washington, D.C. Protests: Scenes from Home Rule to the Civil Rights Movement. Greek, an archivist in the Washingtoniana section of the D.C. Public Library, culled the many images and cartoons from the archives of the now defunct Washington Star, the D.C. Community Archives and the Historical Image Collection.
The book vividly details the demands that District residents have been making for more than a century, for everything from voting representation in Congress to civil rights. But more than just tell us of these struggles, it lets the images of the people involved in them do the talking.
There's a woman standing in front of a polling place shortly after a constitutional amendment granted the franchise to the country's women. But a large sign clearly reminds her that as a District resident, female or not, she has no vote: "All Citizens of the United States Voting Today Excepting Citizens of the District of Columbia." There's a 1959 picture of two protesters wearing striped prison garb and holding signs that read, "Only Convicts and Lunatics and Washingtonian Can Not Vote." There are images from the 1964 presidential election, the first in which District residents could vote, and photographs from the struggle for civil rights and from the day in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson swore in the District's first mayor, Walter Washington.
The book reminds us that ever since the fateful day that the District was founded, residents and activists have fought for the rights that Americans in Maryland, Virginia and beyond always had. More importantly, it shows that while we have a ways to go, the District has come quite a ways from the days when its residents literally had no say whatsoever in their local affairs and could not in any way participate in national politics. The victories may have taken decades to come, but they came at the behest of residents who demanded to be treated the same as everyone else in the country.
Sadly, there aren't many pictures from the last 20 years. If anything, the book should serve as a bit of a kick in the ass for all of us that the status quo isn't inevitable, but changing it takes a lot of people, a lot of prodding and a lot of patience. If Greek ever updates the book, it would be nice to have images of District residents marching in the streets to demand that the 200-year-old injustice of no Congressional representation finally be resolved.