Though it has been months since the Tennessee Legislature sought to silence the voices of Black state residents and hundreds of thousands of college students of all races by expelling two of the three Tennessee state representatives who championed the people’s calls for gun reform, the words of protest continue to be shared.
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), during their recent national convention in Nashville, honored two of those state representatives—Justin Pearson and Justin Jones—with the 2023 NNPA Legacy Award.
During his award acceptance address, Jones reflected on the April 2023 day when he and Pearson were removed from office, leaving their 170,000-plus constituents with no voice in their state’s House of Representatives, by invoking the spirit and words of a true civil rights icon and freedom fighter.
“Ida B. Wells was a journalist here in Tennessee,” said Jones. “The day that we got expelled, there were many people who told me, ‘Justin, go up there and apologize. Be humble and tell them you didn’t know better.’ And I thought of Ida B. Wells who said, ‘The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.’”
Jones provided NNPA Convention attendees with a glimpse into his mindset during that trying time.
“Truth be told, what happened on April 6, many people thought, ‘What was going through your mind, Justin?’ As I told many people, it was another day in the Tennessee General Assembly. Another day in which the voices of our community were silenced. Another day in which the pain of our people was ignored. Another day in which the voices of young people were pushed to the side. And we said, no more.
“We said, we who stand in the tradition of Diane Nash and John Lewis and CT Vivian of Dr. Ben Chavis; those who stood and didn’t just speak truth to power. Let’s reverse that. In power, they spoke truth. In people power and the power of our ancestors and the power of something that is greater than ourselves, they spoke truth.”
Jones said he, Pearson, Rep. Gloria Johnson (the third of the Tennessee Three) and the people they represented who were demanding gun reform in the wake of multiple deadly Memphis mass shootings, including three in 10 days and another in late March where seven people were shot, two of them fatally, knew they possessed something the Tennessee supermajority lacked.
“We knew that our truth was more powerful than any title of House Speaker. We knew that our truth was more powerful than any title of governor or majority leader. Because though they had the super-majority, we knew that the people were demanding action,” shared Jones.
Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones, one of the ‘Tennessee Three,’ addresses attendees at the 2023 NNPA Convention. Credit: Aswad Walker
Additionally, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, without whom there would have been no justice for the murdered George Floyd, received the NNPA highest service honor, the Courage and Leadership Award.
Jones, who accepted the awards for himself and Pearson shared his appreciation of the Black Press for its support of their work.
“I just wanna thank you all for this award. Thank you for standing with us as we would not be here without the protection of the press. You are the vanguard of our democracy. They thought that what they did would happen in silence, but you shined the light truth upon them. And it scared them so much that they ended session early… We will continue to fight for a community that protects kids and not guns.”
