By Sofia Harp
Two young Black Memphis city representatives, Representative Justin Jones and Representative Justin Pearson, were expelled from the Tennessee legislature on April 3rd. They were suspended on account of their support of the peaceful protests of Tennessee high school students advocating for their safety against weapons of war. This seems to be the final straw for many Tennessee students, who flocked to the Tennessee capitol on April 4 in protest of the House’s verdict, and who can no longer tolerate conservatives who prefer owning automatic machine guns and lining their pockets with the cash of NRA lobbyists, over the safety and lives of their students. But how does the Tennessee capitol’s decision reflect the recent history of this country’s conservatives? Additionally, how do the triumphant results of Pearson and Jones’s reinstatement to the Tennessee House of Representatives serve as a sign of hope for the students of LREI and the rest of the United States?
Jones and Pearson are among the only ten representatives to have been officially expelled from the Tennessee legislature since the Civil War. Those expelled before them were charged with crimes of sexual assault, bribery, and attempted prevention of the passage of the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people. Unfortunately, Tennessee lawmakers who voted in favor of expulsion insinuate that Representative Jones’s and Representative Pearson’s “crimes” are equivalent to the crimes of those previously expelled. This is a heinous false equivalency, and to take such drastic action against lawmakers practicing their First Amendment rights and elevating the voices of their constituents is widely considered as a blatant attack on our democracy.
This isn’t the first time, nor the last, that the far-right members of our government have transgressed against our country’s democracy. On January 6th, 2021, former president Donald J. Trump incited his supporters to invade the United States Capitol to halt the election of our current president, Joseph R. Biden, who had won the election through the traditional democratic processes. On June 24th, 2022, despite enormous public protest, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark piece of legislation that made access to abortion a federal right in the United States. In the past four months of 2023, 493 anti-trans bills have been introduced nationwide by conservative lawmakers, and 43 have passed into law. Despite our country having had more mass shootings in 2023 than there have been days in the year, our government continues to prevent gun control legislation and perpetuate gun violence in our country: the very issue that Representative Jones and Representative Pearson were trying to address. From Critical Race Theory to drag show performances, conservatives continue to attack cultural issues and marginalized communities that exacerbate our country’s political polarization and distract from the vital points that must be addressed.
The Tennessee legislature’s expulsion of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson exemplifies Conservatives’ efforts to silence the people’s voices. Still, in an attempt to eliminate dissent, they have only further galvanized our generation’s intolerance of oppression. A day later, on April 4th, Hundreds of young protesters swarmed the Tennessee state capitol to protest the expulsion of the two lawmakers. This protest was anything but reminiscent of January 6th. Instead of violent radicalist’s beating police into submission, these protesters were the relatives of victims of gun violence, students who no longer wished to live their lives in fear, and democratic citizens whose chants echoed their appetite for justice. Their outcry was spread across dozens of social media platforms, as live streams of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson’s fierce and eloquent defenses of Democracy flooded the news, and the attention of The White House itself was brought to the Tennessee state capitol. On April 10th, six days after expulsion, both Tennessee lawmakers were officially reinstated to their old seats. Jones was reinstated by the Nashville Metropolitan Council by a 36 to 0 vote on Monday, and Pearson was reinstated by the Shelby County Commission by a 7 to 0 vote on Wednesday.
As our country devolves further and further away from progression, it’s easy to lose hope. But, as demonstrated by the bravery and perseverance of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, and for those who protested and expressed their support, this momentous historical event marks the beginnings of a movement. It asserts that we will no longer remain complacent and fight in the face of injustice.