DC flies flags with 51 stars ahead of statehood parade

Dozens of American flags with 51 stars were hung in downtown Washington, D.C., on Friday ahead of a statehood hearing next week.

About 140 of these flags were seen on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, WTOP reported.

The flags were put up days before the House Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing next Thursday on a bill to make the District of Columbia the U.S.’s 51st state. It’s the first House hearing on D.C. statehood since 1993, WTOP noted.{mosads}

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) will testify at the hearing.

The bill was introduced in January by D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and has 219 co-sponsors. Its companion Senate bill has more than 30 co-sponsors.

The flags were also installed ahead of a downtown parade on Monday morning called the 51 Star Flag Salute to D.C. Statehood. The parade, which will take place along Pennsylvania Avenue, moves to urge Congress to give voting rights and representation to the District’s nearly 700,000 residents.