Ousted pair seek to regain seats in Tennessee

Two expelled Black Democratic lawmakers want to be reappointed and then reelected.

NASHVILLE — Two former Black Democratic lawmakers who were expelled by Republican colleagues in Tennessee say they want to be reappointed, then elected back to their seats, following their ouster last week for a protest on the House floor urging passage of gun safety measures in the wake of a deadly school shooting.

The Metropolitan Council of Nashville is likely to reappoint Justin Jones to the seat during a special meeting Monday. The Shelby County Commission plans to announce soon when it will meet to fill the vacancy left by Justin Pearson’s expulsion. Likewise, commissioners can reinstall Pearson, who is from Memphis.

Both former lawmakers told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that they want to return to their positions as state representatives. Special elections for the seats, which have yet to be set, will follow in the coming months.

The expulsions have made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. The former lawmakers have quickly drawn prominent supporters. President Biden spoke with them, and Vice President Kamala Harris visited them in Nashville.

“You know, we will continue to fight for our constituents,” Jones said. “And one thing I just want to say ... is that this attack against us is hurting all people in our state. You know, even though it is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities, this is hurting poor white people.”

In separate votes Thursday, the GOP supermajority expelled Jones and Pearson, a move leaving about 140,000 voters in primarily Black districts in Nashville and Memphis with no representation in the state House.

Pearson and Jones were expelled in retaliation for their role in the protest the week before, which unfolded in the aftermath of a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people, including three 9-year-old students.

A third Democrat, Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, was spared expulsion by a one-vote margin.

Johnson is white, spurring outcry at the differing outcomes for the two young, Black lawmakers. Republican lawmakers who split their votes have cited Johnson’s points on the f loor that her role in the protest was lesser — she didn’t speak into the megaphone, for example.

Johnson has suggested race was likely a factor in why Jones and Pearson were ousted but she wasn’t, telling reporters it “might have to do with the color of our skin.”

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said that’s a “false narrative.”

“It’s unfortunate. She’s trying to put political racism in this,” Sexton told Fox News on Friday.

GOP leaders said the expulsion actions, used only a few times since the Civil War, were needed to avoid setting a precedent that lawmakers’ disruptions of House proceedings through protest would be tolerated.

Pearson said the statehouse has been a “toxic work environment.” He noted the scrutiny he received for wearing a black dashiki — a tunic-like garment that originated in West Africa — for a session, rather than a suit and tie.

“It’s about us not belonging in the institution because they are afraid of the changes that are happening in our society and the voices that are being elevated,” Pearson said on “Meet the Press.”