Justin J. Pearson, the youthful activist who easily won a special election on Tuesday to become the state representative from House District 86, was formally appointed to that office on Wednesday by vote of the Shelby County Commission.
At a brief but spirited ceremony Wednesday afternoon in the Vasco Smith county building’s auditorium, Democrat Pearson, who succeeds the late Barbara Cooper, received the Commission’s unanimous vote and generous plaudits from its members, both Democratic and Republican.
And Commissioner Erika Sugarmon indicated she would put his newly won status to immediate test. “I have some legislation for you,” she said. The premise of Pearson’s getting the Commission’s appointment before his formal certification was to give him the opportunity to meet the General Assembly’s January 31 deadline for the introduction of bills.
In a brief but emotionally resonant response, Pearson, who got almost four times the number of votes as did runner-up Julian Bolton in the 10-person field, indicated he was ready for the challenges ahead.
Characterizing the outcome of the election as a “victory of the people,” Pearson said it was “going to turn into the transformative change that we so desperately need in Memphis and Shelby County and across the state of Tennessee and I’m just happy to be a vessel.”
He moved quickly into an anecdote about a Black trans woman who, he said, had been shadowed and spied on by a Shelby County deputy during her use of the lavatory facilities on a recent visit to the county building.
Referring to the incident as having been “very scary and frightening,” Pearson said, “We need to make sure that this space is safe for everybody,” not just for members of the “dominant culture.” Alluding to Martin Luther King’s dictum that justice denied for a few is justice denied for everyone, Pearson vowed to represent “the people who are so oppressed and marginalized” and called for a “united response” to that purpose.
He said he was pleased for the opportunity to go to Nashville, “but our work is here, right? There’s a lot of people here. And so I’m not going away, [nor} are thousands of supporters, they’re not going away. I’m going to stay engaged and active locally.
“… If we do not deal with what’s happening here, and in systemic and systematic fashion, these things are going to repeat themselves. This is not about Democrats or Republicans or conservatives or liberals. It’s about the question of justice.”
Pearson told the Commissioners, “I thank you for your graciousness, your very kind comments and the work that you do.”
Referring to support received from the Commission in his successful 2021 campaign against the construction of an oil pipeline in South Memphis, he said, “You have proven that people power works and that you are true representatives of the people.
“And for us to continue to do that work fairly and to do it in the right fashion … we have to lift up the folks most marginalized in this community and in the state of Tennessee.”
