To the delight of a cheering crowd in Memphis, Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson shouted “You can’t expel hope.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners appointed him to represent the district in the Tennessee House after he and fellow Black Democrat Justin Jones were expelled last week.
“Nashville thought they could silence democracy, but they didn’t know that the Shelby County Commission was filled with some courageous leaders,” said Pearson, who will serve on an interim basis in the legislature.
The vote to return Pearson to his seat — vacated last Thursday when the GOP-dominated chamber expelled the state representative after he and two other Democrats called for gun reform on the chamber floor — came after the board voted to suspend a rule that would have required a waiting period between his nomination and confirmation.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, participated in the protest but was not expelled.
Johnson and Jones marched with Pearson and supporters to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, where, as expected, he was reappointed.
Fellow lawmakers Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Gloria Johnson joined Pearson and a large crowd.
Jones was reinstated to his position Monday after their demonstration on the floor of the legislature following the deadly Nashville school shooting.
“You can’t expel justice. You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t expel our fight. We look forward to continuing to fight,” said Pearson.
“Continuing to advocate. Until justice rolls down like water. And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Let’s get back to work.”
The vote to remove the two lawmakers, who are Black, caused an uproar in the state with demonstrators coming out to support the young politicians.
“We need to welcome these young voices and not keep them down,” Johnson said at a rally before the march.”
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Nashville and met with the three Tennessee legislators at Fisk University, an HBCU.
Let’s understand the underlying issue is about fighting for the safety of our children,” Harris said.
“It’s been years now where they are taught to read and write and hide in a closet and be quiet if there’s a mass shooter at their school, where our children, who have God’s capacity to learn and lead, who go to school in fear.”
Harris called for background checks, red flag laws and restrictions on assault rifles.
“Let’s not fall for the false choice — either you’re in favor of the Second Amendment or you want reasonable gun safety laws,” Harris said.
“We can and should do both.”
“Earlier, I spoke to Reps Jones, Pearson, and Johnson to thank them for their leadership and courage in the face of a blatant disregard of our nation’s democratic values,” President Biden said in a Twitter release.
“Our country needs to take action on gun violence — to do that we need more voices like theirs speaking out.”
On March 27, three kids children and three adults were killed in a school shooting at Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in a Nashville suburb.
On Sunday, U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black defended a prayer he delivered on the chamber floor in which he addressed the school shooting in Nashville, a rare occasion in which the chaplain addressed his personal views on a political issue.
Black, who has been the Senate chaplain for 20 years, offered a plea for lawmakers to take action against gun violence in an opening prayer last month just a day after the Nashville shootings.
Black said it was “time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers” alluding to common remarks made by lawmakers in the wake of such tragedies.
