“We can never normalize the ending of democracy. We can never normalize the tyranny of the way that these people in positions of power are operating due to white supremacy and … the patriarchy. That is what we’re up against.” - Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D), On being expelled from the Legislature by the House’s Republican supermajority for joining a chant with gun violence protesters in the capitol in late March, following a mass shooting at a Nashville School three days prior. Found in Ms. Magazine page 6, Summer 2023.
“It might have to do with the color of our skin.” - Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D), answering why she was spared from expulsion from the Legislature while Reps. Pearson and Justin Jones (D) were not. Found in Ms. Magazine page 6, Summer 2023.
Pearson and Jones, who are African American, were expelled from the Tennessee state legislature on April 6, 2023, while Johnson, who is white, wasn't expelled. (Both men were reinstated four months later. Right on!)
No comments:
Post a Comment