Published April 7, 2023 at 7:24 a.m. EDT
Just 30 minutes after Thursday’s contentious expulsion proceedings in Tennessee ended, more than 100 state and federal Black lawmakers assembled in an emergency Zoom meeting to offer support to their ousted colleagues.
The move taken by the Congressional Black Caucus, the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators followed an unprecedented day for the state’s Republican-dominated House of Representatives, whose members voted to unseat Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones — two of Tennessee’s youngest Black lawmakers. Rep. Gloria Johnson (D), a former teacher who is White, narrowly kept her seat after the resolution to oust her failed by one vote.
“This is a direct assault on our democracy, on people’s duly elected representatives, and it smacks of overt racism that the two individuals that were ultimately expelled are two Black men who were simply speaking on behalf of their constituents,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), who heads the Congressional Black Caucus, told The Washington Post.
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The Tennessee House Republican Caucus did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday.
Horsford said the group is working on a “multipronged approach” to help Pearson and Jones return to their positions. While he declined to provide specifics, he said the Congressional Black Caucus would use all the resources it could “to make sure they have the support they need, legally and otherwise.” At the same time, he called on those who have been affected by gun violence to speak out.
“Make no mistake about it: Those two representatives will be returned to their positions,” Horsford said. “We will advocate for that, and we will do everything we can to make sure that they’re supported so that the rights of their constituents and their voices are fully heard going forward.”
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The Republicans who filed the resolutions to expel the three legislators accused them of breaking chamber rules by “knowingly and intentionally bringing disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.” Some went as far as to refer to the lawmakers’ protests as an insurrection.
“This is just not about one specific instance or one specific rule that may have been broken. The rules here are for order,” said state Rep. Johnny Garrett (R), who led the arguments against Jones. “We owe that to the constituents that we represent across this state.”
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Yet Democrats argued Thursday that the move, largely seen as an act of partisan retaliation, was disproportionate to the decorum violations that sparked it — and sent a chilling message to the rest of the nation.
Media Interview Opportunities are Available Upon Request with Reginald F. Lewis Scholars, UL System “It’s a tarnish on the Tennessee legislature. It’s a tarnish on the community that would allow something like this to happen,” Horsford said. “But it’s also a wake-up call for all of America that we have serious issues around democracy and race in this country. And if you think that it’s going to end in Tennessee, sadly, it’s not.”
With the expulsion of Pearson and Jones — who represent parts of Memphis and Nashville, respectively — two of the Tennessee’s most diverse cities are stripped of representation temporarily. Elected officials in those cities will have to select replacements to serve until the next election in August 2024.
While the proceedings focused on allegations of decorum violations, they were marked by a fiery debate that, at times, carried racial undertones. When it came to Pearson and Jones, who were among the 15 Black representatives in the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, the Republican lawmakers cross-examining them appeared to get personal, with some accusing the two of seeking attention and creating a chaotic disruption.
“Just because you don’t get your way, you can’t come to the well, bring your friends and throw a temper tantrum with an adolescent bullhorn,” state Rep. Andrew Farmer (R) told Pearson during the debate. “If you want to conduct business in this House, file a bill.”
Pearson responded: “Now you all heard that. How many of you would want to be spoken to that way?”
Farmer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the move “legislative racism and cowardice.”
“What we saw happen this evening in the Tennessee House was appalling and a return to a dark era in the history of this country and the South,” Barragán (D-Calif.) said in a Thursday news release.
After the proceedings, Johnson also took notice of the difference in which other lawmakers approached Pearson and Jones.
“I think it’s pretty clear,” Johnson told CNN when asked why she was the sole lawmaker to maintain her seat. “I’m a 60-year-old White woman. And they’re two young Black men.”
Horsford said he was not surprised by some of the exchanges on the House floor during Thursday’s votes.
“It was more of a shock that they were so brazen,” he said of the Tennessee Republicans.
That’s one reason the Congressional Black Caucus called an emergency meeting, Horsford said.
“They just needed to see that there were other people who really had their back,” Horsford added. “I saw myself in those two young men simply trying to do their job the best they know how to advocate on behalf of their constituents. And I wanted them to know tonight that they have the support of a whole lot of people.”
