When freshmen Tennessee state legislators Justin J. Pearson, 28, and Justin Jones, now also 28, burst into the national spotlight last spring, many across the country cheered their bravado and audacity.
On March 30, thousands peacefully converged on the state Capitol in Nashville to advocate for gun control. Among them were family members of three children and three adults who were killed a few days earlier in a mass shooting at a private Nashville school. Pearson and Jones were denied the normal procedure of welcoming the visitors. In addition, “Whenever I mentioned ‘gun violence,’ I was reprimanded and threatened with censor,” Pearson told NABJ Black News & Views of that day.
Fed up, Pearson and Jones decided to advocate for gun control legislation from the well of the Tennessee House, using a bullhorn to address fellow legislators and protestors packed into the Capitol. The supermajority, pro-gun Republican legislature was appalled and voted to expel the two men. On April 6, the entire nation watched as Jones and Pearson were voted out, while more protesters in the House galleries chanted “Shame on you” and “Fascists” to the legislators who voted to expel them. A white female legislator, Gloria Johnson, who accompanied the men in the original House protest, was spared expulsion by one vote, prompting cries of racism.
“What is happening here today is a farce of democracy,” Jones said at the beginning of his 20-minute defense. “What we see today is a lynch mob assembled to not lynch me, but our democratic process.”
The three were accused of “knowingly and intentionally” bringing “disorder and dishonor” to the House without being recognized to speak. No Tennessee House member had ever been expelled for simply ignoring decorum rules.
Pearson and Jones called their expulsions “undemocratic and racist.”
Within a week, the two legislators were back in their House seats after being appointed to the positions by local governing bodies. In the following months, both claimed victories after special elections.
Many denounced the actions of the Tennessee legislature, while Pearson and Jones rose to national prominence. They were interviewed on national news shows and by major newspapers. President Biden and former President Obama expressed support. Vice President Harris met with them in Nashville the day after the expulsions. And Biden invited them to the White House.
A Washington Post columnist called Jones and Pearson “mega political stars,” and NAACP President Derrick Johnson referred to them aa “champions of democracy.”
Pearson and Jones put the spotlight on how Republicans attempt to controlthe Democratic urban centers. And it was not the first time they had stood up for what they felt was right.
Pearson was an activist in high school and college. In 2020 he gained local attention as co-founder of Memphis Community Against Pollution, an environmental advocacy group that stopped construction of a pipeline through poor Black neighborhoods and over an aquifer that provides water to Memphis residents.
Justin Jones, a racial justice advocate, once led demonstrations against the legislators who became his colleagues. He staged sit-ins for removal of bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Capitol; and according to the Nashville Tennessean, he previously was arrested for tossing liquid at the former House speaker.
“This year has been nothing short of extraordinary for all its challenges butalso for its opportunities to stand up against White supremacy and injustice,” Pearson said in a recent interview with NABJ Black News & Views.
Pearson also shared that on bended knee in church services back in March, he asked his chief of staff, Oceana R. Gilliam, to marry him. She said yes.
The actions of young advocates Pearson and Jones captured the attention of the nation this year. We can only hope to see and hear more from them in the year and years to come.
