[WardFive] IN MEMORY OF SENATOR FLORENCE H. PENDLETON

Tuesday 15 September 2020

[WardFive] IN MEMORY OF SENATOR FLORENCE H. PENDLETON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

IN MEMORY OF SENATOR FLORENCE H. PENDLETON

Washington, DC—It is with great sadness that I join friends and neighbors across our Nation’s Capital in extending my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Senator Florence H. Pendleton. The District of Columbia mourns the loss of one of its adoptive daughters, and a pioneer for DC Statehood. Senator Pendleton has the distinction of being the first African-American female elected to the U.S. Senate (unseated) in American history. She was inaugurated as the first ever United States Senator from the District of Columbia on January 3, 1991.

“believe that the United States should live up to the true meaning of democracy,” declared Senator Pendleton in a 1999 Washington Post interview. This was a mantra that she lived, taught and carried throughout her adult life, and since her arrival as a student at Howard University.

Senator Pendleton’s love for the District was such that she made DC her permanent home in 1961 when she moved to the Bloomindale neighborhood as the Principal of Taft Junior School. Senator Pendleton first run for ANC in her neighborhood, and also became the President of the neighborhood civic association. She was also the Chair of the Ward Five Democrats and a DC Delegate to the DNC Democratic Conventions, to name a few of her accomplishments.

While honoring a birthday celebration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1993, Senator Pendleton shared, “The dream lives. It lives in me, it lives in you. Let’s work together and make statehood a reality.” That dream and her conviction takes a leap forward this year, as the U.S. Senate will—for the first time in history—take up DC Statehood on the Senate floor.

Senator Pendleton, the District of Columbia owes you a great deal of gratitude for your love and devotion to advance the dream, and soon, we will claim Statehood for our city.

Rejoice Senator Pendleton, and may you forever rest in peace.

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