‘You Can’t Expel Hope’: Second Tennessee Democrat Reinstated To Statehouse
Tennessee’s Shelby County Commission voted on Wednesday to reinstate Rep. Justin Pearson to the state’s House of Representatives. The unanimous vote came less than a week after Republicans expelled Pearson and fellow Black lawmaker Justin Jones as punishment for participating in a gun control protest on the House floor.
“The message to all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope … You can’t expel our fight,” Jones said in a speech following the vote. “We look forward to continuing to fight, continuing to advocate, until justice rolls down like water. Let’s get back to work.”
Pearson, Jones, and their fellow Rep. Gloria Johnson participated in a protest calling for more stringent gun control legislation in the aftermath of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Nashville. The trio led chants on the House floor, and approached the podium to deliver remarks without being recognized by the chair, in violation of the chamber rules.
What typically might result in a formal reprimand turned into an effort to fully oust the so-called “Tennessee Three” from government. Pearson and Jones were expelled, and Johnson, who is white, avoided removal by a margin of a single vote.
Jones was reinstated to the House through a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metro City Council on Monday. Jones was sworn back in on the state Capitol steps minutes later. House Speaker Cameron Sexton previously indicated he would allow the ejected members to be seated should their city commissioners reappoint them.
Jones called for Sexton’s resignation shortly after his return to the chamber. “What we’re calling for is the restoration of democracy in the people’s house,” he said. “We don’t need a speaker who shuts off microphones, who cuts off members from speaking, who wont even let us vote if we join those who are protesting … We have a speaker who represents the opposite of democracy, which is autocracy. He is not fit to serve in that role.”