This series includes materials that document the ongoing fight for statehood and the transformation of the District of Columbia into the state of New Columbia, especially related to the work of John Capozzi during his time as the U.S. Shadow, or Statehood, representative. Other key players in the fight for statehood include D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly. The series contains press clippings, correspondence, financial information and meeting materials from the D.C. Statehood Commission, and media materials such as fliers and scripts for commercials. These materials cover several issues related to the fight for statehood, including information about similar struggles in Alaska and Puerto Rico, retrocession of D.C. territory to Maryland, and the various arguments for and against full rights of statehood for Washington D.C.

Two important events that occurred during the fight for statehood in the 1990’s were the Peanut Boycott and the attempts to argue that the U.S. government’s refusal to grant statehood to the district is a violation of human rights.

In the early 1990’s, a dispute erupted over what some statehood activists viewed as a deliberate block of their cause by conservative Southern states. As a result, the Statehood Solidarity Committee called for a local and national boycott of peanut and pecan-related products, which are a major source of revenue for several of the states that were being perceived as the opposition. This portion of the collection includes press clippings, fliers, and reports relating to the nut boycott and the relationship between nut-producing states and the fight for statehood, including the 1992 report by Statehood Solidarity Committee founder Timothy Cooper in which Cooper calls for the ban.

Advocate organizations for D.C. statehood such as the Statehood Solidarity Committee have sought to gain support for their cause through arguments that refusal of Advocate organizations for D.C. statehood such as the Statehood Solidarity Committee have sought to gain support for their cause through arguments that refusal of Congressional representation violates the basic human rights of D.C. citizens. Throughout the early 1990’s and especially in 1993, activists filed complaints on these grounds with the United Nations and the Organization of American States, prompting investigations and hearings on the issue. The reports, correspondence, and press materials related to these events reflect that the majority of these petitions were dismissed or ignored due to lack of grounds for the complaints or improper procedures on the part of the plaintiffs.