The Root; Published By: Jessica Washington
Updated 4/08/2023 at 6 a.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris rushed to Nashville, Tenn., for an emergency meeting with Representatives Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones. The urgency is warranted: in an unprecedented move, Tennessee lawmakers voted to expel the two Black lawmakers from the state house, effectively disenfranchising tens of thousands of Tennessee voters. However, the reason for the meeting goes a lot deeper than just one statehouse.
The Root spoke with Ohio State University Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries, who warned that Republicans are likely to use Tennessee as a playbook to disenfranchise Black Americans across the country.
What Does This Mean for Black People in Tennessee?
Jeffries says that as disturbing as the decision to remove these democratically-elected lawmakers from the statehouse is, this isn’t coming entirely out of left field.
“I was shocked but not surprised,” Jeffries told The Root, who teaches race and history. “Because of the trajectory of GOP politics over the last decade and knowing the history in places like Tennessee dating back to the Reconstruction Era.”
During the Reconstruction Era, white supremacist Democrats would use similar tactics to expel Black lawmakers who’d briefly gained political power after the Civil War, Jeffries explained. Today, GOP lawmakers have typically used more subtle ways—like gerrymandering—to disenfranchise Black Americans and other marginalized groups, he says. It’s worth noting that Pearson’s district is 31 percent Black and Jones’ district is 61 percent Black, which means that the decision disproportionately disenfranchised Black voters. Read more
