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Let My People Vote: An Interfaith Dialogue on Mobilizing Communities of Faith to Bring Democracy to the People of Washington, D.C.

EVENT BRINGS TOGETHER CLERGY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISTS FROM DIFFERENT FAITH TRADITONS

Washington, D.C., May 24, 2004. On Sunday, June 27, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Foundry Democracy Project and the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington will host Let My People Vote: An Interfaith Dialogue on Mobilizing Communities of Faith to Bring Democracy to the People of Washington, D.C. at Foundry United Methodist Church, 1500 16th Street N.W., on the corner of 16th and P streets, in Washington, D.C. Foundry United Methodist Church is handicapped accessible. Let My People Vote will be of interest to religious social justice activists and D.C. voting rights activists. The event is free and open to the public. Advanced registration is not required.

The goal of this event is to begin building a national network of communities of faith advocating for congressional voting rights for the people of Washington, D.C.

This event will bring together a panel of clergy and religious social justice activists from different faith traditions to discuss why people of faith should be concerned about congressional disenfranchisement, and how activists in D.C. can mobilize people of faith across the country in support of full congressional voting rights.

On the panel will be Rev. Jean Blanchard, Council of Women Ministers; the Honorable Robert Drinan, S.J., Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center; Monsignor Raymond East, Director of the Office of Black Catholics, Archdiocese of Washington; Rev. Dr. Clark Lobenstine, Executive Director of InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington; Rabbi Michael Namath, Program Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Yonce Shelton, M.A., Policy Director of Call to Renewal. Seth Chase, Chairperson of the Foundry Democracy Project, will moderate the panel

"DC's disenfranchisement is clearly a moral issue. Our leaders in America recognize that human rights are universal and 'inalienable.' Yet, our government continues to deny the fundamental, human right of representation in government to people who live in Washington, DC. This immoral policy must be challenged, and people of faith should help lead the way," said Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of D.C. Vote, upon hearing about Let My People Vote.

For more information about this event please contact Seth Chase at (301) 586-0816 or foundry_democracy-info@yahoo.com. Additional information about this event and Foundry Democracy Project can also be obtained on the Internet at http://home.earthlink.net/~foundrydemocracy/.

To register for Let My People Vote, click here.

Foundry United Methodist Church has been serving downtown Washington and the wider world since 1814. Foundry is a reconciling community, affirming the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be in ministry with all people of all races, sexual orientations, ages, or physical conditions. Foundry Democracy Project, a mission of Foundry United Methodist Church, is dedicated to educating the public about the moral injustice of congressional disenfranchisement of the people of Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1978, the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington (IFC) was the first staffed organization in the world to bring together the Islamic, Jewish, Protestant and Roman Catholic faith communities for the purposes of dialogue and social action. The Baha'i, Hindu, Jain, Latter-day Saints, Sikh and Zoroastrian traditions have since joined. The IFC brings together people from different religions, economic levels and races to deepen understanding and respect for our diverse traditions and to collaborate on key issues of the day.

Foundry Democracy Project Article Published in Christian Social Action:
An article on D.C.voting rights, written by Democracy Project Chair Seth Chase, has been published in Christian Social Action, the magazine of the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church. You can read the article by clicking on the link below:
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/uploads/csa/212MonumentalInjustice.pdf

Democracy Project Appeals to President Bush
In a letter dated, January 25, 2001, the Democracy Project appealed to fellow United Methodist, President George W. Bush, for help in bringing full democratic rights to the people of the District of Columbia. We received a very non-responsive letter back from the President's scheduling secretary. Read our letter to the President, the White House's reply, and our response here.

President Clinton Speaks Out on D.C. Voting Rights
In the last weeks of his presidency, President Clinton showed his support of D.C. voting rights. The President recently ordered the Secret Service to put new license plates on the Presidential limousine. The new license plates bear the the motto that appears on all new license plates in the District of Columbia: "Taxation without Representation."

In addition, while preaching a farewell sermon of thanks to the congregation at Foundry United Methodist Church, he expressed his support for equal political rights for D.C. (Read an excerpt from that sermon here). We can only assume that the work of the Foundry Democracy Project has not gone unnoticed by the First Family while attending worship at Foundry!

Success at 2000 General Conference!
The General Conference of the United Methodist Church recently passed a Resolution in Support of Voting Representation for the People of the District of Columbia.. Read our letter to the United Methodist Members of Congress.

One Problem, Many Fixes
What are the solutions to the problem of the District's disenfranchisement?

Opportunities to Get Involved
Find out how you can get involved and help promote the issue of Voting Rights for the District of Columbia. Non-D.C. Residents--write a letter to your members of Congress to support D.C. Voting Rights.