The Tennessee state representatives gained national recognition after Republicans expelled them from the legislature for protesting gun violence. They’re not about to back down now.
I don’t look like the other elected officials in the building. In fact, I was told that I should cut my hair and assimilate. But I know that we have to represent a new model of what legislators can look like. Someone who does not assimilate or accommodate white supremacy and these “norms” of what we’re supposed to be and who we’re supposed to appeal to and how we’re supposed to curtail our identities in order to be accepted in a space. We represent a new South.
When I was elected in 2022, I was the youngest Black lawmaker in our state. I ran against a city council member [in the primary] who had all the endorsements and support, but I recognized that our generation didn’t have a voice in the Capitol. I was tired of begging my now colleagues to hear our voices. I was tired of begging to be let in the door. Running for office was a way to make sure our issues were heard.
Every time you see them react in extreme ways, it is confirmation that we have power and that we need to seize our platform. I think defeatism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I reject it because I believe that the world that I want to live in, the world that I want my children to live in, is worth fighting for.I had no intentions about being a part of the environmental-justice movement, honestly. I’ve always cared deeply about justice but had not seen myself in that work or in that space.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Coco Jones Confirms Justin Timberlake 'ICU' Remix Collab (Exclusive)The singer dished on collaborating with Justin Timberlake for the remix of her song, 'ICU,' being released this Friday.
Read more »
RDR2 Pearson and Trapper Camp Animal ListGet to wranglin some critters. Here are all the feathers, pelts, and other animal parts you can use to get crafted items from Pearson and Trapper in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Read more »
Menendez approval drops amid latest federal investigation, poll findsA majority of New Jerseyans believe the investigation affects his ability to serve the state.
Read more »
Tom Jones, co-creator of stage landmark ‘The Fantasticks,’ dies at 95“The Fantasticks” was the longest-running musical in U.S. theater history, with more than 17,160 performances.
Read more »
How Camila Morrone Became Daisy Jones & The Six’s Camila Dunne'It's a complicated love story. But aren't all love stories complicated?'
Read more »