A panel in Memphis voted to reinstate Justin Pearson to the state House a week after he and another Black lawmaker were removed for supporting a gun-control protest.
The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the Legislature after a Memphis commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight.
Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, chanting and cheering before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore him to his position.
“The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice,” Pearson said at the meeting, his voice rising as he spoke. ”You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t expel our fight.”
The House’s vote last Thursday to remove Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones but keep white Rep. Gloria Johnson drew accusations of racism. Johnson survived by one vote. The Republican leadership denied that race was a factor.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and four other senators sent a letter Wednesday asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether the expulsions violated the Constitution or federal civil rights laws and “to take all steps necessary to uphold the democratic integrity of our nation’s legislative bodies.”
After the reinstatement vote, a throng of jubilant supporters greeted Pearson outside in a church-like celebration. Pearson adopted the cadence of a preacher as he delivered a rousing speech with call-and-response crowd interaction. Accompanied by his fianceé, mother and four brothers, Pearson pumped his fist, jumped up and down and hugged relatives.
“They’ve awakened a sleeping giant,” he said, as a drumbeat and roaring cheers echoed his voice.
Pearson is expected to return to the Capitol in Nashville on Thursday, when the House holds its next floor session, and plans to be sworn in there.
Republicans expelled Pearson and Jones over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting that left three children and three adults dead.
