THE TENNESSEE THREE

THE SHOCK OF SEEING TWO YOUNG BLACK LAWMAKERS UNDEMOCRATICALLY OUSTED FROM THE TENNESSEE HOUSE

BY ROSA COLQUITT ARTWORK JAMAAL HALE

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” -Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

In April, Oregon and the nation witnessed Nashville’s disgusting episode of disenfranchisement and racial acrimony for which the American “south” is historically famous. (Perhaps, some say, “the south” is much more than a simple concept of geography - a topic for a much more detailed opinion piece). In contrast, we have watched the resilience and fierce determination to overcome injustice, for which many Black and Brown Americans, women, our LQBTQ+ family members, and other marginalized communities, are respected and applauded.

Amazingly, the whole Nashville affair erupted from a deadly school shooting that took the lives of six innocent people--three beautiful children, and three devoted members of their school staff. Indeed, the intersection of gun violence, racial justice and democracy came together in Tennessee to grab the world’s attention.

After the shock of seeing two young Black lawmakers undemocratically ousted from the Tennessee House allegedly for a violation of the House’s rules of decorum, along with a third member, a white woman, escaping expulsion by one vote, I am still thinking about what this situation teaches us about the ongoing work for justice and democracy.

Thankfully, Democratic Representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones were interimly reinstated to their seats by their local county commissions. Rejoining Representative Gloria Johnson, now known as the ‘Tennessee Three,’ each has had a lot to say about justice and democracy.

The thoughtful, honest and unambiguous words of Rep.

Johnson, in particular, are widely quoted in the national press in her answers to questions about the unprecedented actions taken by the super-majority Republican lawmakers against the two Black legislators. I believe her words teach us a lot about the “arc of the moral universe,” and the work ahead to bend it more towards justice. She is quoted as saying,

“The shameful acts of expulsion, played out before the world in the Tennessee House, amounted to nothing less than a depressingly antiquated Jim Crow voter suppression tactic designed to subvert true American democracy.”

“. . . the role race played in the expulsions of Jones and Pearson is hard to ignore. . . If you listened during our expulsion hearings, if you listened to the questions that were asked of the two young men, it was a different tone entirely than what was used with me. The tone, to me, was demeaning. There was definitely a difference in the questions, like, ‘How dare you speak up or stand up without our permission? You need to act like us and dress like us and speak like us.’”

We all need to let this sink in for a moment. A very painful moment. Also of added significance, Representative Johnson offers a pivotal point that all Oregonians and all Americans need to hear and to embrace: “Younger voices aren’t necessarily being heard and lifted up and voices that are in opposition to the MAGA Republican supermajority that we have. We need a multiracial, multigenerational representation in this body.”

For sure, Democratic state parties and progressive, prodemocracy Democratic legislatures across the nation must pursue the representation of multiracial, multigenerational voices with great intentionality. Beyond the demeaning personal experiences of Reps Jones and Pearson, there is a larger historical impact that America must recognize. In stripping away the individual voices of two Black lawmakers, the real impact, by a super-majority Republican legislature, was to eradicate the representation and voices of thousands of predominantly Black voters in their districts.

The shameful acts of expulsion, played out before the world in the Tennessee House, amounted to nothing less than a depressingly antiquated Jim Crow voter suppression tactic designed to subvert true American democracy.

I believe that future history books will record the young Nashville voices of peaceful protest, in the image of Dr. King and other prolific civil rights leaders, as a watershed moment for racial justice and democracy in America. The weeks’ long resistance reverberates in the four remarkably simple words of Representative Justin Pearson: “You cannot expel hope.”

This, I think, is one of the greatest reminders and lessons learned about the continuing work for justice and true democracy in America.

In unity of purpose,

Rosa Colquitt, PhD State Party Chair Democratic Party of Oregon