National Urban League Calls For the Immeadiate Reinstatement of Black Tennessee Lawmakers

By National Urban League
Published03 PM EST, Fri Nov 22, 2024
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NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE REINSTATEMENT OF BLACK TENNESSEE LAWMAKERS; CALLS EXPULSION TACTIC ‘BLATANTLY RACIST AND ANTI-DEMOCRATIC’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 8, 2023) – Today, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial call for the reinstatement of Tennessee House Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, calling the move ‘blatantly racist and anti-democratic’ and urge the House to focus on passing reasonable gun safety measures:

“The events of last night were no more than the posturing of an emboldened and privileged Tennessee majority party. Expelling Representatives Pearson and Jones was another example of the deep-seeded racism that still exists within our nation’s state legislatures and the efforts to operationalize the growing censorship campaign. These tactics are analogous to the treatment in the 1960s of the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell and former Georgia Legislator and former chairman of the NAACP Julian Bond.

“This is part of a growing strategy to disenfranchise Black people, Black voices, and continue the vicious assault on our democracy we have seen across the country, opening the door for more attacks on our history, our culture, and our rights. A legislative body does not have the power to determine to sits with the legislature, the people do. That is what democracy looks like. Tennesseans deserved more and the majority let them down. 

“This year, our country has seen 144 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. 144 communities changed forever. This is what we should be focusing our attention. The failure of the majority to respond with meaningful gun safety measures after the tragic killing at the Covenant School showed the state of Tennessee, and the country, where the House majority stands on this issue. We will not forget that. 

“We join the calls for the immediate reinstatement of House Representatives Pearson and Jones and call on the State legislature to pass comprehensive gun safety measures. We must stand to support all Tennesseans and protect the rights of voters.”