Michelle Taylor (Photo: Shelby County Health Department | Facebook)
It’s been a matter of weeks since President Donald Trump single-handedly deprived the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of its quorum, and the giant semi-public utility may come to figure in crucial decisions regarding Elon Musk’s controversial Colossus xAI project in Memphis.
When Trump issued walking papers to two members of an already truncated TVA board, he effectively deprived the board of its ability to vote on policy shifts and other matters of consequence.
The utility’s rules require the presence of five active and voting members to constitute a quorum. At full strength, the board would number nine directors, but attrition of various kinds over the years had previously reduced the board’s membership to five.
That membership now stands at only four after Trump, in successive acts, fired both Michelle Moore, a well-known “clean power” advocate, and Board Chairman Joe Ritch. The president gave no reasons for either firing, but coincidentally or not, his actions came in the immediate wake of public prodding from Tennessee’s two Republican senators for changes in the Authority’s leadership.
In an op-ed that appeared in the industry periodical Power magazine on March 24th, senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty had expressed doubt that the TVA leadership, as then constituted, was up to the need, as they saw it, of jump-starting a new era of reinvigorated nuclear power.
“With the right courageous leadership, TVA could lead the way in our nation’s nuclear energy revival, empower us to dominate the 21st century’s global technology competition, and cement President Trump’s legacy as ‘America’s Nuclear President,’” the senators wrote.
Within days of the op-ed’s publication, the TVA board, then still at quorum strength, if only barely, named the utility’s chief operating officer, Don Moul, to serve as the CEO of TVA. (For what it’s worth, the two senators had wanted a new CEO from outside the Authority’s ranks.) Almost immediately after Moul’s appointment, Trump would fire the two board members, thereby stalling any immediate initiatives on TVA’s part beyond matters of basic maintenance. That would include oversight activity vis-à-vis the energy situation of Memphis.
Ultimately Trump will have the prerogative of restocking the board to quorum strength, with his nominations in theory drawn from all reaches of the Authority’s operating area, which comprises all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. Members, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate, serve five-year terms.
Created under FDR, TVA is no longer taxpayer-funded but is still federally owned. One way or another, politics plays a major role in its operation, and critics of Musk are increasingly conscious that the contours of the Trump ally’s giant xAI program are rapidly expanding, with its demands on available energy from MLGW mounting well beyond what the original estimates were when Musk acquired the vacant Electrolux property to house the supercomputer last year.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young is now finding himself under fire for his apparent acquiescence with the Musk project. In a blistering letter to Young, Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor criticized the mayor for not imposing stricter air-quality controls on the Colossus project, which is requiring the use of even more gas turbines — potentially as many as 35.
Amid an upsurge in various forums and ad hoc opposition groups, one leader of a burgeoning citizen revolt is Representative Justin Pearson, immersing himself in anti-xAI activities in the manner of his successful 2021 opposition to a gas pipeline.
More and more obviously, the xAI matter is rising to a potentially dominant status politically, almost on a scale with the city’s No. 1 bugaboo, crime. And uneasiness about the Trump-Musk alliance could be a major part of that concern.
State Representative Justin Pearson, whose presence during this year’s legislative session has been fragmentary, has resumed regular attendance as the General Assembly heads into its stretch drive.
Pearson, who has avowedly been dealing with the aftereffects of his brother’s death in December, was a speaker at the meeting of the Shelby County Democratic Party (SCDP) convened Saturday at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church to elect new party officers.
Things went downhill after rousing unity speeches by Pearson and others, as the assembled Democrats could not reach agreement on the bylaws needed to continue with the meeting, which was to have elected a new chairman and other officers. Amid chaos, the meeting was aborted, with the professed intent by those present of reconvening within 30 days.
The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP), whose chair Rachel Campbell of Chattanooga was on hand, temporarily decommissioned the local party, as it had nearly 10 years earlier during a previous period of public disorder in the SCDP.
• The Democrats’ foreshortened meeting was the site for a fair amount of schmoozing from potential near-term political candidates. One such was Michael Pope, a former sheriff’s department deputy who served a brief tenure as the SCDP’s last nominal chair before its previous shutdown by the state party in 2016.
Pope later became police chief in West Memphis. He resigned during a controversy over allegedly suppressed evidence in the case of the West Memphis Three, who were subsequently released after serving several years for a notorious murder.
Pope is now an announced candidate for sheriff in 2026. An expected opponent is Anthony Buckner, the current chief deputy to Sheriff Floyd Bonner.
• Former state Senator Brian Kelsey will hold a celebration in East Memphis on Saturday for his recent release from prison. “It’s time to party!” say the invites. Kelsey, who had been convicted of campaign finance violations and served only two weeks at a federal prison in Kentucky, was pardoned last month by Trump.
• State Senator Brent Taylor is trying again after his bill seeking the legislative removal from office of DA Steve Mulroy failed to gain traction and was taken off notice.
Taylor and state Senate Speaker Randy McNally made public their request that the state Supreme Court create a panel to investigate Mulroy, Nashville DA Glenn Funk, and Warren County DA Chris Stanford. Like Mulroy, Funk is a liberal who has ruffled the ideological feathers of the state’s GOP supermajority. Stanford is something of a throw-in. He is under indictment on charges of reckless endangerment after firing a pistol in pedestrian pursuit of an accused serial killer.
The shift in tactics from legislative to judicial was an effort to avoid the appearance of being politically partisan, said Taylor, who acknowledged that any action on the new proposal would be delayed at least thorough the summer.
• Entities in Memphis and Shelby County seem to have done well in their entreaties for financial aid from the state. Included either in Governor Bill Lee’s original budget or his supplemental budget, announced last week, were such petitioners as the city of Memphis, the Memphis Zoo, the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Agape Child & Family Services, Youth Villages, Memphis Allies, Operation Taking Back 901, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), PURE Academy, YMCA of Memphis & the Mid-South, Tech901, Moore Tech, Southern College of Optometry, Hospitality Hub, Memphis Teacher Residency, Memphis City Seminary, Africa in April, Stax Music Academy, and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (for the Memphis aviation campus).
Also included was funding for an audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Conspicuously missing so far are allotments for Regional One Health and the Metal Museum. Additions and subtractions are to be expected before the session ends.
Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, holding sign, gestures to House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, on the left and pictured from the rear, while Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, turns to the camera on August 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Tennessee’s House and Senate speakers are threatening to punish Memphis by cutting its share of sales tax revenue — more than $75 million — if the city puts referendums on the November ballot restricting weapons, a move likely to force Memphis to sue the state.
Continuing a feud with the Democratic-controlled Bluff City, Republican leaders House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), announced Monday in a news release the legislature “will not tolerate any attempts to go rogue and perform political sideshows.” Their statement says they plan to withhold state shared sales tax to any local government that tries to circumvent state laws.
The speakers’ move comes in response to referendums set for Memphis’ November ballot asking voters whether they approve amendments to the city charter requiring a handgun permit, restrictions on gun storage in cars, an assault weapons ban after Jan. 1, and authority to enact extreme risk protections orders often referred to as red flag laws.
Following the Republican leaders statements, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said his office won’t allow the referendums, all but guaranteeing a lawsuit, according to multiple reports.
A Monday letter to Shelby County Commission Chairman Mark Luttrell from Tennessee Elections Administrator Mark Goins says state law preempts firearms regulation and extreme orders of protection from local ordinances and leaves “no authority” for the city of Memphis to propose charter amendments on them, thus any referendum would be “facially void and cannot be placed on the ballot.”
But Memphis City Council chairman JB Smiley said Monday, “We believe we’re right on the law.” If the council gives him the authority, he said he will instruct the city’s attorney to file for a declaratory judgment in Chancery Court to put the questions on the ballot.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton during the start of 2024 legislative session on January 9, 2024 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Memphis City Councilman Jeff Warren, who sponsored the referendum resolutions, said he believes Sexton and McNally are confused on the issue, because the referendums would be “enabling” measures that couldn’t take effect without the approval from state lawmakers. Smiley agrees with Warren, saying the council would have to act on the referendums, too.
“What we’re hoping will happen is the state legislature will look at this and say, … ‘They’re trying to combat their violent crime by being able to do something about these people with these guns that don’t need them and are using them to commit crimes,” Warren said.
The local government would be able to enforce those resolutions only with state backing, he said.
Warren, a physician by trade, noted people in rural areas are more likely to need weapons to protect crops and livestock from varmints, but that the situation is different in urban areas such as Memphis, where people are “driving around in cars, doing donuts with AK-47s hanging out the car.”
Still, the House Speaker’s Office contends Memphis shouldn’t be trying to pass such measures if they don’t have the effect of law. It further believes they are a tactic to drive voter turnout in November, possibly affecting Republicans with marginal support such as Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis).
“With the recent actions of the progressive, soft-on-crime (district attorney) in Shelby County and the Memphis City Council’s continued efforts to override state law with local measures, we feel it has become necessary to take action and protect all Tennesseans’ rights and liberties. We hope they will change course immediately,” Sexton said in the statement.
McNally echoed the sentiment, saying, “The Tennessee Constitution clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the state and local governments. Shelby County needs to understand that despite their hopes and wishes to the contrary, they are constrained by these explicit constitutional guardrails.”
The Republican-controlled legislature has declined to pass any such proposals the past two years despite a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville where six people, including three 9-year-olds, were killed in March 2023.
Memphis leaders say they’re searching for a solution to an “epidemic” of gun violence that escalated after the state’s General Assembly passed a permit-less handgun carry law.
Memphis Council member JB Smiley, Jr. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Memphis City Council chairman Smiley, co-sponsor of the referendums, said the legislature can’t legally withhold Memphis and Shelby County tax revenue.
Smiley contended “it’s anti-democratic if we don’t want to listen to the people,” and noted the council’s actions have not violated state law. He called the speakers’ statements “premature.”
“If they believe they’re within their right to withhold tax revenue that’s duly owed to the city of Memphis, we would like to see what the judges say,” Smiley said, predicting such action by the legislature would be found unconstitutional.
The state lost a handful of court battles with Nashville over the past two years after trying to control Davidson County’s sports, airport, and fairground authorities, in addition to cutting the number of Metro Council members from 40 to 20.
Republican state lawmakers have been at odds with Memphis Democrats for several years and passed a measure earlier this session turning back a Memphis ordinance designed to stop police from making “pretextual” traffic stops for minor violations that can lead to confrontations. The council approved that measure in response to the death of Tyre Nichols who died after being beaten by five Memphis police officers when he was stopped for reckless driving in January 2023.
In addition, Sexton and Republican Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) are trying to oust Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, a Democrat, claiming he isn’t prosecuting criminal suspects effectively. Even so, the latest reports show the crime rate dropped in Memphis over the last year.
State Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) said the withholding of state tax dollars would lead to a lawsuit. Pearson was one of two lawmakers expelled from the legislature for leading a protest on the House floor for stricter gun laws in 2023 in response to The Covenant School shooting. The Shelby County Commission returned him to the General Assembly a week later.
Pearson contends Sexton and McNally “can’t help themselves but to unconstitutionally and anti-constitutionally reach into local governments’ matters.” The freshman lawmaker called their announcement “ridiculous, reckless and racist” and also referred to their actions as “tyrannical and authoritarian.”
He noted Sexton is now saying a “majority Black city can’t self-govern” after having him and Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville), both young Black men, expelled from the state General Assembly.
Pearson pointed out the nation was founded on the concept of “no taxation without representation” but that the speakers want to take Memphis’ state shared tax dollars because of the possibility that city voters could disagree with them about gun laws.
Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) accused Republican lawmakers of “dismantling” gun laws and allowing weapons to “flood” the state while “turning a blind eye” to the impact on families and neighborhoods. Under Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s leadership, the legislature passed a permit-less handgun carry law, and the age was lowered to 18 as the result of a settlement between the state attorney general and a group that sued the state.
Gunshot wounds are now the leading cause of death for Tennessee children, she said.
“The ballot reforms being considered by Memphis voters are common-sense measures designed to curb this epidemic of violence,” Lamar said. “Our community is crying out for solutions, and instead of being met with support, we’re facing intimidation from state politicians who should be our partners in ensuring safety and justice.”
House Minority Leader Karen Camper (D-Memphis) also blasted the speakers’ move, pointing out Shelby County generated $2 billion in sales tax revenue last year.
“To suggest that these vital funds could be withheld over a local decision aimed at ensuring public safety is shortsighted and counterproductive,” she said in a letter to McNally and Sexton.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.
Tennessee Valley Authority offices in Knoxville. (Photo: TVA)
More than 11 months since she was nominated to become the only Black member of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Board of Directors, Memphian Patrice Robinson is still waiting to take her seat. The nomination awaits approval from the Senate Environment and Public Works committee.
Robinson, a former Memphis City Council member, was nominated by President Joe Biden to the nine-member TVA board on September 11, 2023. She has yet to be confirmed. In fact, she has not even had a confirmation hearing, and it doesn’t look like one will be scheduled any time soon.
Patrice Robinson
“I am still waiting to be confirmed by the Senate. This has just not been a priority,” Robinson said. “It has been a little nerve-wracking, but I am not there yet.”
Currently, eight people are seated on the nine-member board. All are white. None are from West Tennessee.
A federally owned utility company, TVA supplies electricity to parts of seven states. It is the exclusive supplier of electricity to Memphis. As TVA’s single largest power customer, city-owned Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) pays $1 billion a year for electricity. Yet the city has not had anyone on the TVA board since John Ryder, a Memphis attorney and former general counsel for the Republican National Committee, who died in May 2022, just months after leaving the board.
That is unacceptable, said state Rep. Justin J. Pearson.
“It is imperative that we get representation on the TVA board,” said Pearson (D-Memphis), a frequent critic of TVA. “We provide a significant amount of revenue for TVA. And we in Memphis have the greatest energy burden for any place in the country. We are spending a lot of our money on energy. Our voice is critically important.”
When contacted July 25 about the status of Robinson’s approval, a spokesperson for the the Senate Environment and Public Works committee offered a one-line email response: “The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has yet to schedule further consideration of Patrice Robinson’s nomination.”
Gridlock on Congressional confirmations is nothing new and not unique to Robinson’s appointment. On July 30 at a U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration hearing, an official with the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service urged Congress to streamline the process of approving presidential appointments, which she said hurts local communities and even threatens national security.
“The work required to select, nominate, and vote on presidential appointees is longer, more complicated, and more uncertain,” testified Jenny Mattingly of Partnership for Public Service in a written statement. “Many positions remain vacant for months or even years; some never will be filled.”
Previous appointments to the TVA board have also waited long periods before getting confirmed. Current board member Beth Geer of Brentwood, who works as the chief of staff for former vice president Al Gore, and two others, were first nominated in spring of 2021 but waited until December of 2022 to be approved.
Biden’s 2021 TVA board nominations included Kim Caudle Lewis, an African-American businesswoman from Huntsville, Alabama, but she withdrew to make an unsuccessful run for the Alabama state senate.
Robinson, 68, completed her two terms on the Memphis City Council in December, where she served as the council’s liaison to MLGW. She also spent 17 years as a supervisor with MLGW. The TVA board position became vacant in January with the retirement of former TVA board chairman Bill Kilbride of Chattanooga.
At the time of her nomination, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) praised Robinson as the ideal person to represent Memphis and West Tennessee on the TVA board.
“Patrice Robinson has a lifetime of experience in utility management and public service and is the ideal candidate for the TVA Board. I am happy to see a Memphian again appointed to the board,” Cohen said in a statement.
Robinson said she has talked to a representative of the Senate committee, but she is right now “in a holding pattern.”
Four of TVA’s current eight board members are from Tennessee. But none of those four live anywhere close to Memphis (Nashville, Brentwood, Chattanooga and Johnson City). The others are from Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia and Kentucky.
Scott Brooks, TVA representative, said TVA has no influence on who is nominated nor confirmed for its board. The board has met twice since January, being one member short for each of those meetings. The board meets again on August 22 in Florence, Alabama.
Memphis has had previous TVA board members in addition to Ryder. Cohen’s office reported that Robinson would follow in the footsteps of these Memphians who previously served on the TVA board: Ron Walter, V. Lynn Evans, and Bishop William Graves.
Pearson suggested that public pressure could help get Robinson’s nomination confirmed, as it has worked in the past when Congressional confirmations have been delayed. Pearson has been highly critical of TVA’s pursuit of fossil-fuel generating plants at the expense of green energy such as wind and solar power.
“It makes no sense that we have no representation on the TVA board,” Pearson said. “We need someone to help elevate our issues. And to speak out against the horrible direction that the TVA is going.”
Robinson declined to comment on whether Memphis and West Tennessee citizens should be concerned that such an important component of the area’s energy supply has no representation. She said she would prefer to focus on her credentials for the job.
“I do believe I would represent West Tennessee and our community well. I have a utility background and a political background, and I cannot think of a better candidate,” Robinson said.
As opponents of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are working to erase these practices from the workplace, state political leaders are working to emphasize their importance and effectiveness.
“In recent years, state Republican officials have cheered the Supreme Court ruling overturning affirmative action, passed several ‘divisive concepts’ laws targeting speech at K-12 public schools and colleges, proposed legislation to ban DEI policies at public universities, established a process to ban books, and threatened lawsuits against companies that employ DEI tactics,” the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus said in a statement.
Tennessee Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) and House Minority Leader Karen Camper (D-Memphis) held a field hearing in Memphis on Monday at the National Civil Rights Museum. Akbari and Camper were joined by Representatives Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis), Jesse Chism (D-Memphis), and Senator Sara Kyle (D-Memphis). During this hearing, legislators were able to hear from community and state advocates about the importance of DEI practices in their respective work.
Akbari said Memphis was the first stop on their “Freedom to Be Heard” tour and will head towards Nashville, and possibly a location in East Tennessee.
During the hearing Akbari said there are threats to DEI policies on the local and national level, and she and other lawmakers wanted to hear community input on programs and policies currently in place.
Veda Ajamu, chief DEI programs and community engagement officer at the National Civil Rights Museum said a major component of the museum’s success and vision is their ability to facilitate “tough conservations.” Ajamu said this includes “inequities that affect society,” and they address these by way of the Corporate Equity Center and community engagement programming.
Ajamu explained that the Corporate Equity Center uses the historical significance of the museum through “strategic programming” that seeks to “transform workplace environments.” The Corporate Equity Center currently has two programs to promote equitable decision-making — the C-Suite Initiative and the Unpacking Racism For Action program.
“The ongoing importance of this work lies in the transformative potential to challenge biases, promote equity, and foster a more inclusive and just society for generations to come,” Ajamu said. “It’s not just about honoring the past, but also about shaping a better future grounded in truth, justice, and respect for diverse histories and experiences.”
Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health Department said racial disparities are also apparent in healthcare, and that these disparities are the result of systemic inequities as well. For context, she told an anecdote about how the health department had historically used unequal practices for vital record keeping for Black and white patients.
“Elected officials understand how important vital records are,” Taylor said. “Vital records are used by local, state, and federal officials to make decisions about funding … If they [health department] were color categorizing between 1901 and 1971, we also know those funding decisions were different based on race.”
Taylor said the amount of health issues and disparities apparent in the community are a result of an “uphill battle” that started years ago. She added that this is also evident in geographical inequities, where Black residents are disproportionately affected by certain health epidemics such as lead poisoning, infant mortality, and life expectancy.
Others explained the importance of DEI outreach in their programs and businesses such as FedEx and the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum. The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) also gave insight into the education sector.
TEA executive director Terrance J. Gibson said they are currently suing the state education department and school board regarding the “Prohibited Concepts Ban,” which “prohibits the inclusion or promotion of 14 ‘prohibited concepts’ dealing with race.”
“Curriculum should not be legislated by individuals who are not in the classroom,” Gibson added. He said these “divisive concepts” cause educators to not teach with “integrity and honesty.”
Latrell Bryant, an English as a second language instructor at Treadwell Elementary school, urged lawmakers to fight to make Black history education accessible after sharing her personal experience in a “neighboring school district,” where the “politics and racial makeup” were “quite different from what Shelby County is.”
Bryant was able to teach African American history, however her tenure coincided with the implementation of the Divisive Concepts Law, which made it harder for her to teach her students. She decided to leave the school in a decision to not constantly have to battle people with “differing politics.”
“There are students out there in the state of Tennessee in remote areas — not just the urban areas — who want to learn about Black history voluntarily,” Bryant said. “If there is anything you [legislators] can do to make sure we are able to continue to do that please do so.”
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, parents of the late Tyre Nichols, at a Monday press conference speaking out against a bill to overrule a local government measure to limit traffic stops of the type that resulted in Nichols' death. (Photo: John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout)
Promises, promises. This wouldn’t be the first time they’re broken.
Rep. John Gillespie (R-Bartlett) swore on the House floor Thursday he didn’t tell the family of slain motorist Tyre Nichols’ he would postpone a policing bill they oppose until next week when they could return to the Capitol. That claim brought an accusation from Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) that Gillespie lied to the family (and a subsequent rebuke that amounted to nothing).
Nichols’ parents, Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, also sent out a statement Thursday urging Senators to vote against the bill when it reaches the upper chamber and reiterated what Pearson said, that Gillespie told them not to visit Nashville because he didn’t plan to bring the bill to the floor.
The Wellses visited the legislature Monday lobbying against Gillespie’s bill, which would turn back a Memphis City Council ordinance designed to prevent police officers from making “pretextual” stops such as pulling over motorists for a bad tail light. The Wellses believe their son, Tyre, would be alive if such an ordinance had been in place in January 2023 when police stopped him and beat him (the incident is on video). He later died.
Gillespie responded by postponing the bill until Thursday and attaching an amendment — which is usually a no-no on the floor — making the bill apply only to “pretextual” stops. In other words, police would still make them in Memphis and statewide.
Several Memphis Democrats questioned whether he told the Wellses he would delay the bill until they could return to the Capitol, which is more than three hours from Memphis.
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, parents of the late Tyre Nichols, at a Monday press conference speaking out against a bill to overrule a local government measure to limit traffic stops of the type that resulted in Nichols’ death. (Photo: John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout)“They were told it would be presented next Thursday. John lied to them,” said Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) of Rep. John Gillespie. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)Rep. Gloria Johnson hugs RowVaughn Wells, mother of the late Tyre Nichols. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Gillespie contended his community is “begging” for safer streets and refused to give in, saying the bill needed to pass immediately to cut Memphis crime.
Afterward, he said he texted Mr. Wells during Thursday’s session to let him know he was moving forward with the bill and received no response.
“I feel horrible that they feel this way. But I told them this bill was on the calendar today and that my intention was adding an amendment if I was allowed,” Gillespie said.
Regardless of who said what and when, Gillespie could have put it off again. Democrats practically begged him for a delay.
But the second-termer who succeeded the late Rep. Jim Coley wouldn’t budge — buoyed by supermajority Republicans. And two efforts by Towns to force postponement failed.
Eventually, the House voted along party lines to adopt Gillespie’s bill, bringing yet more criticism from Pearson.
“They were told it would be presented next Thursday. John lied to them,” Pearson told the Lookout later, basically the same thing he said on the floor.
The Wellses issued a statement later Thursday saying the legislation is a “dangerous step back in the fight for accountability, transparency and justice within law enforcement.” They consider the Memphis ordinances a “part of Tyre’s legacy,” intended to build trust between law enforcement and residents and prevent tragic deaths.
The Senate is likely to follow the House on this issue, even though Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) isn’t enthusiastic about several other constitutionally questionable measures emanating from the lower chamber.
The real question, however, is whether Memphis police will follow the legislature’s orders if the bill becomes law or stick with the Memphis City Council directive to limit “pretextual” stops, those in which officers pull over vehicles to make a “speculative” investigation unconnected to the reason for the stop, and not for enforcing traffic laws.
Some folks call it stereotyping or “driving while Black,” and the U.S. Department of Justice saw enough problems with Memphis policing policy to investigate last year.
But the city council, worn out with traffic stops turning into killings, took things into their own hands and prohibited “pretextual” policing.
It sounds like something the police department should have done years ago. But in the majority minority city on the banks of the Mississippi, change comes slowly — if at all.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
This is a story about nazis, the rock group Paramore, a folk singer, and the GOP members of the Tennessee State House. Bear with me. It all comes together in the end.
First, the nazis: Last Saturday afternoon, a group of 30 or so white men demonstrated on the grounds of the state capitol in Nashville. They carried nazi flags, wore face masks (naturally), and red T-shirts proclaiming that they were members of a group called “Blood Tribe.” They then walked in loose formation down Broadway, along sidewalks filled with tourists.
The march was videoed by dozens of people, including by one brave stalwart who walked alongside the group, screaming, “Cowards!! Cowards!! Show your faces!!” They didn’t because — duh — they’re cowards. That video was posted on X and went viral.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Blood Tribe members exalt Hitler as a deity, a reincarnation of the Norse god Wotan. They are “a hard-core white supremacist group, that sees themselves as the last remaining bulwark against enemies of the white race and the only path to a white ethno-state.” Blood Tribe members “emphasize hyper-masculinity,” and the group does not allow female members.
Here’s my favorite part: Once accepted into the Blood Tribe, “members take part in an initiation ceremony during which they cut themselves using the group’s ceremonial spear and then rub their blood on the shaft of the spear.” Uh huh.
Also possibly notable is the fact that the group’s first public demonstration was in March 2023, when they protested a drag queen story hour in Wadsworth, Ohio. According to news reports, attendees “wore matching red sweaters, waved swastika flags, and held a banner that read, ‘There will be blood.’” No word on whether their shoes matched their outfits.
But there’s really nothing funny about nazis, no matter how un-self-aware they are, unless hyper-toxic masculinity and ignorant racism amuse you. These guys are evil thugs, even if they are afraid to show their faces.
Among many others catching the nazis on phone video last Saturday were state Representative Justin Pearson of Memphis and state Representative Justin Jones of Nashville — the two Black members of the “Tennessee Three” who were excommunicated from the state legislature last summer for advocating for gun reform in the House chamber. Pearson and Jones (who were reinstated by special elections) both denounced the Blood Tribe march and referenced their GOP colleagues in their X posts about the group.
Jones said: “This is exactly what my Republican colleagues’ hate speech is fostering and inviting.” Pearson said: “Tragically, [the Blood Tribe’s] views are shared by many who I serve alongside on the other side of the aisle.”
Too harsh, you say? This is where Paramore and the folk singer come in. The Nashville-based rock band won Grammys for Best Rock Album and Best Alternative Music Performance. The folksinger, also from Nashville, was Allison Russell, who won a Grammy for Best American Roots Performance. Jones made what is typically a perfunctory consent calendar resolution — noncontroversial motions that the legislature passes en masse — to honor both artists for their awards.
But, oops. Nope. GOP House Speaker Jeremy Faison removed the resolution honoring Russell from the consent calendar, saying he had been approached by other GOP members with questions about Russell “which made it appropriate for us to press pause on that particular resolution.”
What questions? He couldn’t say. Here’s a guess: Russell is Black. The members of Paramore are white. The GOP reps decided to “press pause” on the Black woman because as they have shown time and time again, they are country-ass, cousin-humpin’ racist tools. In a real democracy, you could put that resolution on the consent calendar and take it to the bank.
Too harsh? I’m pretty sure Faison doesn’t like it when people bring up the 2022 incident in which he ran onto a basketball court during a game (between two “Christian” academies, no less) and attempted to “de-pants a referee” because he disagreed with a call. Probably should have pressed pause on that move, Jeremy.
To their credit, the lead singer of Paramore said the group would decline the “honor” from the legislature unless Russell was also honored. Oh, and if you’re still wondering about that “press pause” business? Last year, Russell criticized GOP legislators for enacting legislation targeting LGBTQ rights and banning drag shows.
The Tennessee House of Representatives chamber was hot Tuesday but the vibe from the Speaker’s seat was icy cold at times, particularly when aimed at two-thirds of The Tennessee Three.
The House returned to business Tuesday morning after officially gaveling in the special session on public safety late Monday afternoon. That session brought some contentious rules from Republican lawmakers that sought to limit protests and limited what lawmakers could and could not say.
Back on the House floor Tuesday at 9 a.m., lawmakers organized the business of the session — what bills were assigned to committees and which legislators would comprise those committees.
The road to the moment was violent and turbulent. A Nashville school shooting claimed the lives of three nine-year-old students and three adults. Police also shot and killed the shooter. Protestors swarmed the Capitol in April, begging and shaming lawmakers for action on gun reform. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee promised a special session on gun violence that many of his own party did not support. Once called, busloads of protestors and gun-reform advocates piled into buses to Nashville, where they rallied, marched, chanted, and sang.
While the moment in the House chamber Tuesday was serious, lawmakers are people, too. Discussing unfinished business, Rep. Joe Towns (D-Memphis) maybe took liberties with procedure and addressed an elephant in the room.
“Look, I know Tennessee is not broke,” Towns began. “We’ve got plenty of money. Why is it so hot in this joint? This building is burning up.”
To that, House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said his office had been working with maintenance staff to get the air conditioning turned back on in the building. Towns reminded the Speaker that Tennessee is a right to work state and that “we need to fire somebody.” The light-hearted comment brought chuckles in the chamber.
Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) did not get such a straight answer or warm reception from Sexton when he asked a similar question later in the floor session.
Pearson was sworn back in to his office Monday. That came after he and Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) were expelled from the House earlier this year for a floor protest advocating gun reform. The national attention of the act brought heat to Sexton and the state GOP, and Jones and Pearson would continue to be a thorn in their sides.
If this wasn’t enough to cool the relationship between Pearson and Sexton, consider that two weeks ago, Pearson flatly called Sexton a “racist” in a Memphis Flyer story. To say the least, an exchange between the two Tuesday was contentious.
“I know we were talking earlier about air conditioning and things like that, but we’ve had lots of people coming to the Capitol to protest, and have their voices heard in this extreme heat and in this weather, and the water fountains here at the at the Capitol seem to have been turned off or not working,” Pearson said to Sexton, asking for information.
“That’s an inaccurate statement; that is not accurate,” Sexton said, quickly. “We’ve checked. That’s been a misrepresentation.” He, then, quickly moved on to recognize another lawmaker.
Not satisfied with the answer, however, Pearson later asked Sexton to clarify what he meant about the water fountains. Sexton said to his knowledge the water fountains were never turned off. On its face, the exchange seems simple. But just under the surface were hints at, perhaps, some possible GOP conspiracy to make the Capitol uncomfortable for those seeking gun control. Sexton’s quick and icy demeanor on the question seemed to hint that he knew an accusation lurked beneath the question.
Later, during an exchange with Jones, Sexton’s icy demeanor returned, this time showing him flex his legislative muscle with procedural rules on topics he seemingly wanted to avoid.
“I’m still seeking an answer as to whether members who were stripped of committee [assignments] will be restored to their rightful committees that you removed them from on April 3rd,” Jones began. Sexton immediately gaveled down the question, saying “you’re out of order” before Jones finished speaking.
Sexton moved on quickly but Jones asked why his question was out of order and why Sexton silenced his microphone. Instead of replying himself, Sexton let the House clerk explain to Jones that the body was on unfinished business and his question fell outside the scope of discussion.
“So members can ask about the heat in the building, but I I can’t ask about committees [that] constituents sent me here to represent them on?” Jones asked. ”Is that that what you’re telling me?”
Sexton, again, dodged the question, allowing the clerk to explain again about rules, finally explaining that “the House Speaker makes rulings on what is in order and not in order.” Sexton quickly moved on to other business.
If anything, the exchanges set the tone for what promises to be a turbulent session, even one so limited to a narrow slate of topics (that does not include gun reform). And it all happened before any real discussion began on the actual, meaty topics before the Tennessee General Assembly.
Committees have been scheduled on both the House and Senate sides of the legislature. Many of them are set to get underway Wednesday. The House isn’t set to meet for floor votes until noon Thursday.
Mothers of children who attend Nashville’s Covenant School in the Tennessee House gallery on the first day of the 2023 special legislative session. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Tennessee House Republicans passed a set of rules allowing them to silence lawmakers deemed disruptive, off-topic or who “impugn the reputation” of another member during this week’s special legislative session.
The new rules are an attempt by Republican lawmakers to find a way to stop Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, from disrupting proceedings without expelling them or running afoul of the state constitution, which requires the two men to be able to vote in person on the House floor.
“The rules that are being put forward now are to limit freedom of speech,” Pearson said during the debate over them. “It’s not just limiting the freedom of speech of representatives. You are limiting the freedom of speech of our constituents.”
Earlier this year, Jones and Pearson used a bullhorn to take over the House floor and protest a lack of response to gun violence following a mass shooting that killed six at the Covenant School in Nashville.
Republican lawmakers expelled the two for their actions, but local governments and voters swiftly returned the two men to their House seats, removing expulsion as a deterrent.
Gov. Bill Lee called this week’s legislative in response to the Covenant shooting but has restricted lawmakers from discussing any gun-related legislation.
The rules that are being put forward now are to limit freedom of speech. It’s not just limiting the freedom of speech of representatives. You are limiting the freedom of speech of our constituents.
– Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis
Lee will allow lawmakers to discuss 18 topics, which include ways to strengthen criminal justice laws and address mental health issues. He will also enable them to discuss a red-flag law to remove guns from this deemed a risk, but no House or Senate Republican has sponsored such a bill.
Democrats have criticized the special session for not allowing lawmakers to debate some form of gun control. The Covenant shooter had three guns in their possession, including an AR-15 military-style rifle.
As part of the special session and new rules, Republican lawmakers restricted public access to the Capitol building, legislative offices and House floor.
A cap was set for how many people could enter the Capitol, and members of the public won’t be allowed to carry signs while in the House gallery.
House Republicans also closed off one of the two galleries from the public, allowing only credentialed guests like media members, legislative staff and lobbyists.
In the past, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, could cut off a lawmaker’s microphone if he determined they were disruptive, off-topic or personally insulted a House member when commenting or asking a question during the debate of a bill.
Sexton had exercised this authority several times with Jones, Pearson, and the occasional Republican lawmaker. But, the new rules allow Sexton and the Republican supermajority to escalate the punishments. House Majority Leader William Lamberth. (Photo: John Partipilo)
“Stick to the bill, stick to the policy,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said advocating for the rules. “Let’s stay on the issue and not insult each other.”
The rules give House lawmakers three strikes on disruptions. A House member can’t debate or make remarks on the floor for three days after the first time Sexton deems them disruptive. On the second offense, it’s six days of silence and a third offense results in a ban for the rest of the special session.
When a member is off-topic, the rules give lawmakers four strikes before they are silenced for the rest of the special session. On the first offense, the lawmaker’s mic is cut off. On the second offense, the speaker won’t recognize the lawmaker on the House floor for three days, and on the third offense, it’s no recognization for six days.
When a lawmaker “impugns the reputation of another member” the House will take a vote on remark without debate. If the House determines the lawmaker insulted a member the same four-strike rules as being off-topic apply.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Al Roker was starstruck recently. Leaving a TED Countdown Summit on climate change in Detroit, he ran into Tennessee state Representative Justin Pearson.
“I got to meet one of the #twojustins from Tennessee,” Roker wrote on Facebook.
The other Justin, of course, is state Representative Justin Jones. Both Justins were expelled from and reinstated to the Tennessee House of Representatives this year for protests on gun violence.
Never-ending Elvis
Posted to Palaeontologia Electronica
A story in the most recent issue of Cosmos reads, “Scientists have named a new species of pterodactyl with a distinctive pompadour-looking crest on its skull — earning it the nickname ‘Elvis.’” That is all.
Word Up
Photo: Ansley Murphy
An answer on Wordle, The New York Times’ still wildly successful word game, was worth a couple of digital high fives in the Flyer Slack channel last week. The answer? FLYER. Take a win where you can get it, folks.
