U.S. SENATOR MICHAEL D. BROWN ERECTS “WARNING” SIGN ON HIS FRONT LAWN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 3, 2021

CONTACT:  Senator Michael D. Brown, hrzcom@aol.com, (202) 330-3519 - cell 

U.S. SENATOR MICHAEL D. BROWN ERECTS “WARNING” SIGN ON HIS FRONT LAWN

Commuters, as they enter DC, encounter large reflective sign stating the fact that

residency in the nation’s capital results in the loss of the most basic rights of citizenship  

(Washington, DC)—United States Senator Michael D. Brown (D-DC) erected a large reflective, metal “WARNING” sign on the front lawn of his home, located at 4501 Western Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. 

View the time lapse video of the installation of the sign on May 2, 2021:  https://youtu.be/oq5Br4tf6AE

WARNING sign installation - May 2, 2021 Time lapse video of Scott installing the WARNING sign on United States Senator Michael D. Brown's front lawn. Senator Brown's home is located at 4501 Wester... youtu.be

In a statement, Brown said: “I took another step towards making our demand for equality by erecting this sign in my front yard. Republicans have contended for years that Washingtonians know what they are getting into when they move to the District of Columbia. I disagree and say: ‘Let’s make that official.’ As the first house people pass coming from Maryland into DC on Massachusetts Avenue, I want this sign to be a warning and a reminder that our disenfranchisement is not an inconvenience, or an oversight, a slight or simple unfairness. It’s a violation of our most basic rights of citizenship. In addition, I’m sending a message: It’s time to stop being polite, begging for the rights Thomas Jefferson said were ‘given us by God’ and then taken away by Congress.” Quoting Frederick Douglass, Brown said, “’Power concedes nothing without a demand…’ and now, after passing DC statehood in the House, it’s time to make a forceful demand in the U.S. Senate.” 

“The Senate is a different landscape and simply clinging to our righteous indignation and recent House victory will not get the job done. Collectively, we must rise up against this political anachronism that infringes on our most basic rights. We have paid fully for our citizenship with our money and our blood and we ask for no favors, no special treatment, no dispensations. We come only to reclaim our rights. It’s time we call this what it is – un-American, undemocratic and a violation of every principle that we hold dear and, lest we forget, an injustice to everyone who resides in the nation’s capital (members of Congress exempted, of course),” Brown added. 

“There should be a sign like this at every entry point to the District of Columbia as a continuous reminder of our servitude. I challenge every Washingtonian to express their demand for equality on signs in their front yards or windows. As we move our bill forward in the Senate, we must stand together against the bullies who seek to keep us subjugated, saying in a loud clear solitary voice that we will no longer accept the insult and injury of second-class citizenship based on race, issue politics or party affiliation,” Brown challenged.

“I promised to be DC’s last ‘Shadow Senator’ and that’s a promise I intend to keep,” Brown concluded.  

Measuring six-feet by four-feet, the large red and white sign is pictured here with Senator Brown. 

Currently serving his third six-year term as a non-voting senator, Michael D. Brown (D-DC) advocates for equal rights for the 700,000 people living in the nation’s capital who have no voting representation in the U.S. Congress. Since 1794, Tennessee, Michigan, California, Minnesota, Oregon and Alaska also used senators like Brown to achieve representation through statehood.