Hi John, my name is Justin J. Pearson, and I’m the State Representative for District 86 in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 2020, I helped lead the fight to defeat a multi-billion-dollar crude oil pipeline project that would have poisoned drinking water for one million people and stolen land from South Memphis residents.

In 2023, I was one of the “Tennessee Three” who joined hundreds of people on the House floor to protest Republicans’ inaction on gun violence, days after a deadly mass school shooting in Nashville. Instead of using their power to address this epidemic and save lives, Republicans voted to expel me from office.

In 2025, I'm standing up to billionaire Elon Musk to protect my community, our health, and our environment from the toxic pollution of his xAI data center he’s forced onto Memphis.

And in 2026, I’m taking the fight to Washington to give my community the representation it deserves: I’m running for Congress in Tennessee’s 9th district.

I’m honored to be Justice Democrats’ third endorsement of this critical election cycle and part of the growing movement to build more working-class people power — especially as I take on a nearly 20-year incumbent who simply isn’t fighting hard enough for us.

Before I tell you more, can I count on you to pitch in $5 or whatever you can spare to support the launch of our grassroots campaign?

My story begins in Southwest Memphis, where I was born and raised by teenage parents who went on to become a teacher and a preacher. We were financially poor, but spiritually rich. Growing up, I watched my mom and dad work low-paying jobs to care for me and my four brothers while they followed their passions, earned college degrees, and served our community.

We lived in a historically redlined, working-class neighborhood where Black folks were denied mortgages, loans, and other financial investments. Our community was treated as a dumping ground for industrial pollution, including landfills, chemical plants, and other toxic industries. My brother and so many others struggled with asthma their entire lives — even today, this area is considered an “asthma capital” of the United States.

I’ve been fighting to improve the lives in my community since I was fifteen years old, when I fought for new textbooks and Advanced Placement classes at my underfunded, inner-city high school. When I returned home from college, I co-founded an environmental advocacy organization that helped spark a movement to stop an oil pipeline, and devoted myself to organizing for justice.

I ran for my current seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2023 at the age of 28. Just weeks after being sworn in, I joined two of my Democratic colleagues and hundreds of peaceful demonstrators at a protest for gun reform in the state capitol. Soon after, Republicans tried to silence and punish us for “disorderly conduct.”

After I was expelled by the Republican supermajority, I was reinstated through a special election, winning almost 94% of the vote, and then won re-election in 2024. Since then, I have used my position to continue speaking truth to power by showing up for my constituents, holding numerous town hall meetings, fighting Tennessee Republicans over bad bills, standing with striking workers on the picket lines, fighting environmental racism from Elon Musk, and introducing legislation to protect our children from gun violence and improve healthcare quality and access for the poor and the aging.

To me, there is nothing more important than showing up for my community, no matter what. But as our country slides rapidly into fascism fueled by billionaires and the corporate elite, our current Congressman doesn’t seem to believe the same.

Our current leadership is out of touch with the needs of the disenfranchised in District 9 and lacks the energy and capacity to actually fight for us. The money he claims to bring to our district has not made a measurable impact on communities that need federal assistance the most. He would know that if he stayed engaged with his constituents or took the time to listen to them, but instead, he’s an absent DC politician who brags that he doesn’t have to run for office anymore because he assumes voters will support him whether he fights to earn their vote or not.

I know that one single elected official cannot save a community, but that the purpose of our leadership in Washington is to build a movement that our community can see itself in and inspire them to come together to fight back with the power everyday people already have. It takes all of us, and we need leaders in Congress who know that.

It’s time to breathe new life into this congressional seat and the Democratic Party at large. I’m ready to stand up, speak out, and roll up my sleeves to work WITH the people, FOR the people — but it’s going to take a groundswell of grassroots support to take on a powerful incumbent and win.

If you’re with me, become a founding donor to our campaign. Any contribution, from $5 to $50, will show that we’re ready to give TN-09 the bold, working-class representation it deserves in Congress.

Contribute $5

I can’t thank you enough.

In Love and Service,

Justin