Capitol Hill Children to Sing D.C. Statehood Song at U.S. Capitol

Children on Capitol Hill are set to raise their voices in song this weekend in a push for D.C. statehood.

The children, and their parents, are planning to arrive on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Sunday at 10 a.m. for the performance, according to neighborhood blog The Hill Is Home.

The participants will sing a satirical version of the “50 States That Rhyme” song that was featured Sunday on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” They are encouraged to print off a copy of the lyrics, said Capitol Hill resident Maria Helena Carey, who is helping organize the event.

“After seeing Last Week Tonight, a few of us parents on the Hill came together and started thinking about doing something like what happened with the sledding ban,” Carey said, referring to locals’ defiance of a congressional prohibition on sledding on the U.S. Capitol grounds.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said the television show gave the push for D.C. statehood a “priceless national platform.”

“These D.C. parents and their kids will be the first to use last Sunday’s momentum to organize and make their own pitch for D.C. statehood,” she said in a statement. “They are highlighting the many opportunities John Oliver’s gift to D.C. offers residents for the taking.”

Video via YouTube/LastWeekTonight