Tag Archives: Tennessee

Daja E. Henry Originally published by The 19th As the dust settles in Tennessee after the past few weeks, there have been allusions to change. But still, much remains the same. There was a mass school shooting in Nashville, a protest over gun violence that left two Black lawmakers expelled …

Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout The Shelby County Commission voted unanimously to reappoint Justin Pearson to the state House seat Republicans expelled him from six days ago. House Republicans kicked out Pearson, D-Memphis, and Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, for violating the chamber’s rules on decorum when the two men took over …

Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout The Metro Nashville Council voted unanimously to send former Rep. Justin Jones back to the Tennessee House, moments before he was sworn in Monday among a huge crowd on the steps of the State Capitol and returned to the House floor by about 5:30. “I want …

Daja E. Henry Originally published by The 19th A day after Tennessee Democratic representatives Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones were expelled from the state legislature, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at Jones’ alma mater — Fisk University, a historically Black institution — delivering a message of praise for the …

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams The Tennessee Republican Party waited less than 24 hours to start fundraising off the expulsion of two progressive lawmakers from the state House—openly bragging Friday about what critics have called a blatantly anti-democratic move that shows the party’s growing authoritarianism. State Reps. Justin Jones (D-52) and …

Justin Jones, the Democratic Tennessee lawmaker who was expelled from the state Legislature on Thursday, said he was trying to protect all children from the scourge of gun violence—including the children of the Republican colleagues who subsequently voted to oust him—while vowing to keep fighting for gun control. Addressing the …

Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout Republican lawmakers sponsored resolutions Monday to expel three Democrats who led a protest on the House floor last week as hundreds of people rallied outside the chamber for tighter gun laws before the session devolved into a fracas. The bills are aimed at state Reps. Justin …

U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett was accused of saying “the quiet part out loud” after the Tennessee Republican responded to the massacre in Nashville on Monday by arguing there’s not much Congress can do to prevent mass shootings. Speaking to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol Monday afternoon following the murder of …

Lookout Staff, Tennessee Lookout Three children and three adult staff members are dead after a mass shooting event Monday at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood. Among the victims are three 9-year-old children: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. The adult victims are …

Mark Satta, Wayne State University On March 2, 2023, Tennessee became the first state to enact a law restricting drag performances. This law is part of a larger push by Republican lawmakers in numerous states to restrict or eliminate events like drag shows and drag story hours. These legislative efforts …

Orion Rummler Originally published by The 19th Tennessee Gov. Bill  Lee, a Republican, on Thursday signed two bills targeting LGBTQ+ people in the state — one to ban gender-affirming health care for minors and another to ban drag performances that could be viewed by minors and seen to cause them harm. …

In moves that alarmed advocates for transgender youth, the Tennessee and Mississippi GOP-dominated legislatures this week sent bills banning gender-affirming care for minors to their Republican governors’ desks. Even though organizations including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and American Psychiatric …

Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout Brenda Scott’s father came to west Tennessee as a sharecropper. By 1971 — as a result of hard work and government loans — he had 129 acres of his own, some of which his descendants occupy today. His adult children and grandchildren belong to an enclave …

by Bianca Fortis This story was originally published by ProPublica Leola Scott recently decided to become a more active citizen. The 55-year-old resident of Dyersburg, Tennessee, was driven to action after her son was stabbed to death and nobody was charged. In August, Scott tried to register to vote. That’s …

by Alexis Marshall and Meribah Knight, Nashville Public Radio, and Ken Armstrong, ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.   Series: Juvenile Injustice, Tennessee Where Kids …