Tennessee Now A Battle For Democracy

April 8, 2023 4:43 am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee has become a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy after Republicans expelled two Black lawmakers from the state Legislature for their part in a protest urging passage of gun-control measures. In separate votes on Thursday, the GOP supermajority expelled Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, a move leaving about 140,000 voters in primarily Black districts in Nashville and Memphis with no representation in the Tennessee House. Kevin Webb is a 53-year-old teacher from Pearson’s district in south Memphis who says removing Pearson “for such a small infraction” is “classic America.”