APRIL 10, 2023: Four days after being unjustly expelled by racist Republicans in Tennessee, Justin Jones was sworn back into office
He then marched arm-in-arm, back to the Tennessee State House with thousands of cheering constituents and supporters
With his head and fist raised high, Rep. Justin Jones triumphantly returned to the Tennessee Chamber where he reclaimed the seat that voters elected him to
Today the far-right dominated Montana legislature, after first silencing her, plans to censure and expel its first elected trans woman member, Zooey Zephyr, just as the Tennessee legislature did to two young Black men.
All because she dared to condemn legislation that will kill and torture trans children -- something that Democratic Party leaders and Joe Biden have refused to condemn, much less take action against.
These attacks go far beyond the scope of electoral politics. They are attacks on the right of oppressed people to be represented or even speak on matters that directly affect them. Fortunately, there is a growing fight-back movement to #LetHerSpeak. I have no doubt that there will be a fierce struggle to restore her seat if she is expelled, as there was for Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in Tennessee.
"Blue check" fans of Elon Musk are now openly calling for the public executions of trans people, their families and their health care providers. This is a fight for the whole working class and progressive movement.
If you haven't spoken up, if you haven't joined a protest, if you haven't paid attention -- the time is now.
‘A new generation is rising up’: Young Dems stand up to GOP extremism
MSNBC
April 26, 2023
MSNBC's Ali Velshi is joined by Montana Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the trans lawmaker who has been banned from the state house chamber by Montana House Republicans over "decorum" after she spoke out against anti-trans legislation, along with Tennessee Democratic State Rep. Justin Jones and U.S. Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida.
Okay I have not seen much here about the Tennessee protests?
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Watch crowd chant “fascist” at GOP lawmakers
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This is fascism, this is racism, this is, ultimately, authoritarianism. I suggest you look into this if you haven’t yet. Hundreds of thousands have had their voices silenced because these three lawmakers chose to stand with their citizens.
I cannot believe that the same man I protested alongside for BLM during the summer of 2020 got elected to be a state representative.... just for other lawmakers to put in a formal request for him and 2 others to be removed this year. Why do they want him removed, you ask? BECAUSE HE PROTESTED WITH 10,000+ STUDENTS YESTERDAY FOR BETTER GUN LEGISLATION, THEIR RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE IN SCHOOL, AND MORE!!
Representative Justin Jones, also known as Brother Jones to many of us here in TN, does not deserve this. He's a fantastic organizer and now state legislator who has repeatedly put his body, mental health, and life on the line for countless people. And the other two Reps., Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson, don't deserve it either. Especially not for joining people they're meant to represent in a fight for their safety and rights.
If you wanna help them, please call Speaker Cameron Sexton's office at +1-615-741-2343 and leave a voicemail demanding they not unlawfully remove Reps. Jones, Johnson, and Pearson from their rightfully-elected positions. You can leave a name, real or not, and number if you want, but you don't have to. You can also email Speaker Sexton at [email protected].
PLEASE REBLOG THIS IF YOU SEE IT, AND PLEASE HELP IF YOU'RE WILLING AND ABLE TO!
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee have been accused of overt racism after expelling two Black Democrats from the state legislature in an act of unprecedented retaliation, for their role in a peaceful protest calling for gun control in the aftermath of a massacre at a school in Nashville.
The Republican-controlled legislature voted on Thursday to spare a white Democratic lawmaker who participated in the same protest.
Justin Jones, representative for Nashville, and Justin Pearson, who represented Memphis, gave rousing speeches in the chamber before the majority-white legislature voted to oust them, leaving tens of thousands of mostly Black and brown Tennessee residents without representation.
Justin Jones, 27, said he had “no regrets” and would “continue to speak up for Tennesseans who are demanding change”, in an interview with CNN on Friday,
“What happened yesterday was an attack on our democracy and overt racism. The nation got to see clearly what’s going on in Tennessee, that we don’t have democracy especially when it comes to Black and brown communities. This is what we have been challenging all session, a very toxic, racist work environment.”
Jones said Republican lawmakers were trying to take Tennessee backwards, and pointed to the state’s history of white supremacy, the birthplace of the ultra-violent Ku Klux Klan.
After the vote to expel them, Jones and Pearson, the two youngest Tennessee lawmakers and former community organisers, were greeted with rapturous chants and songs of resistance by a huge crowd outside the state capitol building. During the vote, the visitors’ gallery exploded in angry shouts of “Shame!” and “Fascists!”
Pearson, 27, told reporters that in carrying out the protest, the three had broken “a house rule, because we’re fighting for kids who are dying from gun violence and people in our communities who want to see an end to the proliferation of weaponry in our communities”.
He later tweeted: “We will not stop. We will not give up. We will continue working to build a nation that includes, not excludes, or unjustly expels. People power will always prevail!”
Gloria Johnson, the white Democrat spared expulsion by a one-vote margin, was asked by reporters about the split vote as she left the chamber on Thursday.
“I’ll answer your question; it might have to do with the color of our skin,” said Johnson, a retired teacher.
The attacks on Zooey Zephyr in Montana, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in Tennessee, and Mauree Turner in Oklahoma go far beyond the scope of electoral politics. They are attacks on the right of oppressed people to be represented or even speak on matters that directly affect their lives.