Beginning this autumn, specially trained volunteers will reach out to visitors to the District of Columbia to educate them about how citizens living in the nation’s capital – with all of this shrines and monuments to democracy and freedom – are denied the basic citizenship rights that residents of all 50 states enjoy.

The Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition, a nonprofit organization that conducts public education in support of the goal of DC statehood, will send statehood “Ambassadors” around the District – to tourist sites, national conferences, marches and rallies, and other locations to spread the word about the lack of democracy here and why DC statehood is the solution.

The “Ambassadors” project, supported by a DC government grant, will build on a survey of visitors to DC conducted two years ago by Stand Up! That survey found that most people were unaware that the District lacked voting representation in Congress and control over its own budgets and laws, and that when informed about this lack of democracy, 73 percent of respondents supported statehood for the District.

Ambassadors will attend a brief training session and given guidance on how and where to spread the statehood message. Supporters of DC statehood interested in serving as Ambassadors should contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..