Justin J. Pearson is an American politician. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing the 86th district, representing parts of the city of Memphis. He was elected in a January 24, 2023 special election to succeed Barbara Cooper, who was posthumously re-elected in the 2022 Tennessee House of Representatives election after dying on October 25, 2022. He was expelled on April 6, 2023 for participating in a gun control protest in the state capitol, with those in favor of the expulsion characterizing his conduct as disruptive to the business of the chamber.
Like many southern states, Tennessee has a complex and troubled history with racism, including slavery, segregation, and ongoing racial discrimination. The state was a major center of slavery and played a significant role in the Civil War, with battles such as the Battle of Nashville and the Battle of Franklin fought on its soil.
Following the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Tennessee, like other southern states, implemented a system of segregation known as Jim Crow. Under this system, African Americans were systematically denied access to public accommodations, education, voting rights, and other basic civil liberties.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s saw significant activism and protests in Tennessee, including the Nashville sit-ins and the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike. These efforts helped to bring about important changes in the state, such as the desegregation of schools and public facilities.
Despite these advances, however, racism and discrimination continue to be issues in Tennessee and throughout the United States. Racial disparities persist in areas such as education, healthcare, and the criminal justice system, and incidents of police brutality and hate crimes against people of color continue to occur.
It’s important to note that the issues of gun control and racial justice are often intertwined, with advocates for stricter gun laws arguing that access to firearms can disproportionately harm communities of color, who are more likely to experience gun violence and police brutality.
