Oye Owolewa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oye Owolewa
Shadow Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the District of Columbia's at-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Franklin Garcia
Personal details
Born	1989 (age 35–36) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Northeastern University (BS, PharmD)

Adeoye "Oye" Owolewa (born in 1989) is a Nigerian-American politician and pharmacist. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2020, he was elected to a special political role for Washington, D.C..

His job is to be a "shadow representative" for the District of Columbia in the United States House of Representatives. This is not the same as being a member of Congress. His main goal is to convince the U.S. government to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. This would give the people who live there the same voting rights as people in other states.

Early Life and Education

Owolewa in Washington, D.C. in 2021.

Oye Owolewa was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father is from Kwara State and his mother is from Osun State in Nigeria. His grandmother, Phoebe C. Ajayi-Obe, was a very important lawyer in Nigeria.

Oye grew up in the Boston area and went to the famous Boston Latin School. After graduating in 2008, he studied to become a pharmacist. In 2014, he earned his doctorate degree in pharmacy from Northeastern University. After finishing his studies, he moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a pharmacist.

Political Career

Before becoming a shadow representative, Owolewa was elected to a local community board in Washington, D.C., in 2018. This position allowed him to help his neighborhood directly.

In 2020, Owolewa was elected as the U.S. Shadow Representative for the District of Columbia. After his election, his family in Omu Aran, Nigeria, held a special prayer service to celebrate his success.

What is a Shadow Representative?

A shadow representative is a unique political position. The people of Washington, D.C., vote for this person, but they are not an official member of the U.S. Congress. They cannot vote on laws.

The main job of a shadow representative is to be an advocate. This means they work to persuade members of Congress to support a specific cause. For Owolewa, that cause is the D.C. statehood movement. He works to get the attention of lawmakers and explain why making D.C. a state is important.

Fighting for D.C. Statehood

Owolewa is a strong supporter of making Washington, D.C., a state. He argues that because D.C. is not a state, its citizens are treated unfairly.

For example, people in D.C. pay federal taxes just like everyone else in the country. In fact, they pay more per person than any state. However, they do not have any voting members in Congress to represent their interests.

Owolewa points out that this affects D.C.'s ability to govern itself. All laws passed by the D.C. government can be blocked by Congress. He also says this hurts the city's ability to handle crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, because it received less emergency money than states did.

In his own words, Owolewa described the situation:

D.C. residents are forced into second-class citizenship in the richest nation in history... By denying D.C. statehood, Congress is suppressing our voting representation and say in national policy. Our lack of statehood also prohibits our right to self-govern... once D.C. becomes the 51st state, we will control our own resources, and President Trump would no longer be able to deploy our national guard against us when we march peacefully.

He has participated in marches and worked with lawmakers in other states, like West Virginia, to build support for the cause.

Other Important Work

Owolewa also speaks out on other important issues.

• LGBTQ Rights: He supports the rights of transgender and non-binary people. He has spoken against laws in other states that try to limit access to medical care for transgender youth. He believes this care is essential for their health and well-being.

• Climate Change: In 2022, Owolewa joined protests to demand more action on climate change. He wants the government to do more to protect the environment.

Community Work and Mentorship

Oye Owolewa working as a pharmacist.

Even before he was elected, Dr. Oye was active in his community. As a pharmacist, he worked to teach people about the safe use of prescription drugs. For this work, he won an award from the Washington DC Pharmacy Association.

He also spent his free time helping elementary school students in Southeast D.C. get excited about science. He created programs that gave students hands-on learning experiences.

As a local commissioner, he helped make neighborhoods safer by adding new traffic safety measures. He also helped open a new center for senior citizens. In 2022, he helped organize D.C.'s first-ever Veg Restaurant Week to promote plant-based foods.

Electoral history