[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 63 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  HONORING GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT ACTIVISTS DURING THE 
           ``LAST COLONY MARCH AND RALLY FOR D.C. DEMOCRACY''

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 7, 2012

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, in a week spent commemorating the 150th 
anniversary of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, 
which was signed into law on April 16, 1862, freeing the first slaves 
in the United States. District residents were again reminded of the 
denial of freedom and democracy that exist at home. On Thursday, April 
19, 2012, leaders of the D.C. Statehood Student Association and George 
Washington University students marched from The George Washington 
University campus to the Capitol as part of the ``Last Colony March and 
Rally for D.C. Democracy.'' Six of them engaged in acts of civil 
disobedience and were arrested.
  Along the three-mile route from Kogan Plaza to Upper Senate Park, 
others joined the young activists, calling for action on important 
matters of D.C. democracy, ranging from budget autonomy to full 
congressional representation. The six activists, Brian Crawford, 
Corante Henderson, Moo Ho Bae II, Markus Batchelor, Matt Laurinavicus, 
and Patrick Kennedy, went into the street at Constitution Avenue and 
First Street, where they sat down and blocked traffic, and were 
arrested for their act of civil disobedience.
  Their courage shows that the civil disobedience that began here one 
year ago will continue until Congress grants D.C. full democracy. On 
April 11, 2011, the D.C. Mayor and six members of the D.C. Council were 
among 41 people who were arrested on Capitol Hill in a large display of 
civil disobedience. They protested the action of Congress and the 
administration in trading away the District's right to spend its local 
funds on abortion services for low-income women.
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the 
courageous acts of Brian Crawford, Corante Henderson, Moo Ho Bae II, 
Markus Batchelor, Matt Laurinavicus, and Patrick Kennedy, students at 
The George Washington University and leaders in the D.C. Statehood 
Student Association. They exemplify the time-honored tradition of using 
civil disobedience to combat injustice, and remind us that the 
District's great struggle for democracy is expanding and will continue 
until freedom and equality come to the District of Columbia.

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