John,
Ten days after a mass-shooting in a Nashville school, and one week after three Tennessee lawmakers led a peaceful protest for gun reform in the legislature, the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives voted on Thursday to expel two young Black lawmakers — Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. 1
It’s worth noting, John, that of the three lawmakers who protested, only the two Black lawmakers were expelled. Let us be clear — this was intentional. And harkens back to the Jim Crow era. In the state where Nathan Bedford Forrest founded the Ku Klux Klan, we can’t ignore the racist overtones of this wholly undemocratic action.
As a resident of Nashville, I am outraged by this massive violation of our democracy. But I am also filled with hope. Because as lawmakers voted to expel the two youngest Black representatives in the state legislature, hundreds of young people filled the halls of the state capital in protest. These protests were organized and led by Gen Z activists, with many staying for over 12 hours, staging die-ins, dropping banners, and supporting one another as the House voted. The Tennessee Republican Party may have expelled these two lawmakers, but they can’t expel this movement.
Now that State Reps. Jones and Pearson have been expelled, special elections will be held. Both Jones and Pearson come from the movement, and it will be the movement that re-elects them to the state legislature. Will you split a donation between Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones to re-elect them to their rightfully-held seats in the state legislature?
Split a donation »
Thursday’s expulsions didn’t happen in a vacuum.
I’ve called Nashville home for seven years, and in that time, I have seen my state creep closer and closer to fascism. We’ve seen abortion banned outright in our state, and we’ve also seen the right-wing try to ban healthcare for trans youth, and weaken our gun control laws. During a speech in the House, Rep. Justin Jones said “what the nation is seeing is that we don’t have a democracy in Tennessee.”
But make no mistake, Tennessee is far from alone. All around the country, we are seeing the Republican Party violate democratic norms from refusing to accept election results in Arizona, to gerrymandering themselves into supermajorities in Wisconsin, to attempting to nullify local ordinances in blue cities in Texas, and expanding police power in Jackson, Mississippi.2
As Rep. Justin Pearson said Thursday night, “we can never normalize the ending of democracy.” Which is why we must forcefully fight back against this assault on our democracy by re-electing Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones and commit to fighting anti-democratic forces across the country.
Will you split a donation between Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones to re-elect them to their rightfully-held seats in the state legislature?
Split a donation »
In solidarity,
Lizzy Thomas
Digital Organizer
Working Families Party
Source:
1. Tennessee’s Republican-led House expels 2 Democratic lawmakers over gun reform protest, fails in bid to oust a third, CNN, Thu April 6, 2023
2. GOP legislatures battle for power with Democratic cities: Three flashpoints, The Hill, Fri April 7, 2023
