The saga continues in the Nashville, Tennessee legislature.
Justin Pearson and Justin Jones got reappointed to their legislative seats by their respective county commissions and both are expected to run in the upcoming election to refill those seats.
Let’s examine the lessons that can be learned.
First, and most importantly, the deaths of three children and three staff at the Covenant School in Nashville were pushed to the side and virtually forgotten. Score one for the Tennessee Republicans.
The goal of the Republicans was to deflect attention from the murders and focus it on two Black representatives who chose to have a peaceful, if noisy, sit-in in the well against gun violence in the well of the House chamber. They accomplished their goal. Ending gun violence in Tennessee is no longer on the table.
Second, the issue now before the public has shifted to Republican racism and authoritarianism. The Republicans made their point that Blacks should not challenge their “betters” by demonstrating their First Amendment rights of free speech.
We’re back to Jim Crow where individual rights for Black people do not exist in Tennessee. The very clear message from these white Tennessee Republicans is that they are in charge. To Black people, the message is “Shut up and stay in your place!”
Ironically, the effect of such blatant examples of racism is that these two Black representatives have national attention and public support. After being reappointed, the two representatives sounded as eloquent as the late Martin Luther King in demanding equal protection and equal rights under the First and 14th Amendments. Republicans have revealed their attitudes to not only the state of Tennessee, but also to the world.
That’s not going to play well, either in Tennessee or in the nation in the 2024 elections. It seems that while those who wish to “Make America Great Again” by returning to the racism of the 1950s, younger Americans of all colors are coming to understand just how out of date the Republican Party attitudes are. Tennessee Republican racism merely reflects Republicans bigotry nationwide. Score one for Black people and the Democrats.
Third, it’s also ironic that five of the six students and staff killed were white and Christian. That sends a strong message to conservative Christians that their religious beliefs are not going to protect them from death and sorrow. Gun violence affects us all. Since many conservative Christians support Second Amendment gun rights, they are now faced with a conundrum. Are gun rights more important than their belief in loving their neighbors as themselves? Shouldn’t conservative Christians rise up act to end the gun violence? Shouldn’t all Christians speak up and find ways to end the senseless gun violence in America? Aren’t conservative Christians who support racist white legislators and members of Congress who refuse to pass sensible gun legislation making themselves accessories to murder? How is that “loving one’s neighbor as yourself?”
Isn’t it time to end the tragedy of Nashville and all the other 14 or more massacres that have occurred in America since January 2023?
Let’s not be deflected by two Black legislators who were voted out of office and then reappointed in Nashville. Let’s redirect our attention back to the main issue—gun violence in America. We’ve got to work together to end it or we might find ourselves dealing with spasms of grief in our own communities.
We need to learn and apply the lessons from Nashville—and soon!
