No Justin's, No Peace!
The two black state legislators from the Tennessee Three have been reinstated despite expulsion by their colleagues for standing with a youth-led protest for gun reform—days after a deadly school shooting in Nashville.
Republican politicians have been out of touch with the values of the average American these days, the reinstatement of the two Justins is just another example of this. The public's backlash exemplified the success and power of student activism against the GOP's antidemocratic racist extremism.
Illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times; Photographs by Jon Cherry for The New York Times
Tennessee Republicans Exposed Their Authoritarian Streak, New York Times | 4/11/2023
By Charles M. Blow
Despite Tennessee's inability to expel a representative that sexually assaulted three teenagers, the same legislature was able to come together to expel two black representatives of Tennessee's majority black communities on the basis of peaceful protest.
Video: Pearson gives passionate speech after reinstatement to Tennessee House, CNN | 4/13/2023
County officials in Memphis voted unanimously on Wednesday to reappoint Justin Pearson to the Tennessee House of Representatives, less than a week after the legislature voted to expel him.