More than 700,000 DC residents—most of them Black—live without full voting representation in Congress. At a moment when the nation is celebrating its democratic ideals, the people who call the nation's capital home are still denied full participation in them.

This summer, Rising Organizers and partners across the District are launching DC's Summer Campaign for Freedom: a month-long series of events that use culture, art, music, conversation, and action to elevate DC's story, build community, and strengthen the movement for DC statehood and full voting rights.

Our city will soon be decorated with flags, fireworks, and celebrations of freedom. We'll join that celebration with events that explore the gap between America's promise and its practice—and the role all of us can play in shaping the next 250 years.