Name: Sharon Anderson 

Occupation: Museum Professional  

Hometown: Pensacola, Florida 

Tell me a little bit about yourself. How long have you lived in DC? 

I moved to the Washington, DC metro area back in the early ‘80s, and I’ve been in this area, the DMV, since then, having alternated between Virginia, Maryland, and the District. My current stint as a DC resident has been since 2001. 

Why did you decide to move to DC? 

I was pursuing a career opportunity. I had a chance to work at a nonprofit that was involved with the community development block grants and wanted to make certain that communities — particularly very small, Black-managed communities in the country — were able to really participate in the programs, so we were doing technical assistance. 

What do you love most about living in DC?

 

I really appreciate and enjoy the variety — the variety of people who are here, the fact that this is an international community because of the diplomatic corps that resides here, the fact that there’s a diversity within the population. There’s so much to do when it comes to cultural institutions — of course I make a big plug for the Smithsonian, as well as other organizations like the Kennedy Center — but also the community opportunities that we have with local theater, regionally and in the District; the wide variety of cuisines that are possible to enjoy; it’s just a wonderfully diverse city and has a lot of offerings. I appreciate the size of the community too, it’s just very welcoming and open. 

 

Could you talk about your own experience being disenfranchised, or in other words, what it has been like to lose the rights you had when you were living in one of the 50 states? 

I was really surprised — as I think a lot of people are who aren’t in tune with the situation here in the District of Columbia — when I moved here and realized that I did not have voting representation in Congress. It was definitely a surprise! 

During my time here in the District, I’ve worked in the District government, including a stint where I was working in the office of Mayor Anthony Williams when there was a bill proposed by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and then Virginia Congressman Tom Davis, which was not about statehood, but it was to give the District voting representation. Being in Mayor Williams’s office, there was discussion about passing that legislation — the pros and the cons — and I think probably that experience is where it really struck me the hardest, because Mayor Williams was visiting with congresspeople and there were folks who really sympathized and empathized with what we were going through and then there were those who really weren’t interested, and it really bothered me, because it was this unwillingness to address what is a lapse in democracy in our country, and I was really just struck by that. 

What does achieving statehood mean for you? 

It is the recognition of the residents of the District of Columbia of having full citizenship, and that is long overdue. It is the fact that we have a say in the major issues that are facing this country, that we have that full voting representation. It is also a recognition of relieving the unfairness of having Congress intervene in our local matters as we have seen recently. It is the removal of us being treated as political pawns by people in Congress who have no real interest in the District, no real knowledge about us, and just want to take a stance that they run on in their home district — that to me is the biggest issue and the largest injustice when it’s measured through the years of how this city has been treated as a political pawn — to be able to cast that behind us would be momentous. 

What do you think needs to be done to get closer to achieving statehood?

 

I am a strong believer in helping to educate and make people more aware. I personally try to do this — I have conversations with family and friends to help them understand what’s going on. Every now and then I have my email rant where I send out messages to a variety of folks to say ‘look at this injustice’ and to basically highlight what this means. I think it is that personal advocacy, to have those conversations with our various circles, and I think it’s also not just my political rants, but also just to talk about who we are, because unfortunately so many people, when they think of Washington, DC, they only think about the federal government, the monuments — they don’t get that full view like we were talking about earlier of a vibrant community that like every municipality in this country has its ups and downs, its challenges, its victories, that’s just the nature of life. It’s really trying to help people understand and broaden their understanding of the District of Columbia and the people who live here. 

I’ll go back to the comment I was making about when I was working in the office of Mayor Anthony Williams —when he was the president of the National League of Cities, he hosted a board meeting in the District of Columbia. One of the things that he did during that board meeting was to provide opportunities for those coming from across the country to see the District beyond the National Mall and say ‘look at our neighborhoods.’ One of the things that I also appreciated while I was staffing some of his visits to other states where he would do keynote addresses to other members of the National League of Cities is that he would speak to that — he would encourage them to visit the nation’s capital and also see some of the District’s neighborhoods. I think in a similar fashion, we all have to do that.

Is there anything else you would like to say? 

I am very appreciative of the work that has been done by the LWVDC Statehood and Full Rights Committee, because they have really engaged a lot of people from across the country in that advocacy [role] I was talking about — getting people to understand who we are, to relate to us, to see us in a different light — and it has been exciting to see the different communities that have related to us in different ways. 

I think too the messaging internally within the District of Columbia is very important. The series of workshops and the September conference that were held in 2022 were a good start to reach out to other organizations within the District to talk about our joint efforts and to sort of unify. I think that’s the key going forward — having that kind of partnership and engagement with other organizations to help amplify that message, just so we can more broadly share the message here within the District for people who are newcomers; I know there were plans for visiting newly elected Congresspeople earlier this year; I think all of that is very important. The bottom line: it is a multi-pronged effort that has to include internal [aspects], so that all of us are connected; recognizing that we all have different constituencies, and therefore that’s an important messaging part; working with other organizations; continuing the internal-to-the-District education of people who have lived here for generations and people who are new, to help them understand this is how this works; and to spread the message beyond our boundaries.