Mastodawn

Human Rights Watch Apr 7, 2023

The Tennessee Legislature’s move in ousting two duly elected Black representatives is an extraordinarily harsh response to their peaceful exercise of free speech, one that eliminates their constituents’ representation at a particularly urgent time. 🧵⤵️

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/us/tennessee-house-democrats-expelled.html

Tennessee House Expels 2 Democrats Over Gun Control Protest

The unseating of the lawmakers threatened to further inflame partisan rancor in a state that is divided over issues like how to respond to a school shooting in Nashville.

The New York Times

Billy Armagh Apr 7, 2023

Show thread

Human Rights Watch

In a state that is attempting to prevent students from learning about the enduring legacy of slavery and racial terror, Black lawmakers were stripped of their jobs by their white bosses for essentially speaking out of turn.

Show thread

Human Rights Watch Apr 7, 2023

Tennesseans who voted the ousted lawmakers in have been denied political representation at a time when marginalized people fear gun violence and need voices in government to represent them.

Show thread

Human Rights Watch Apr 7, 2023

The expulsions follow the state's long history of denying the rights of Black people and squashing dissent, often in violent ways.

May 27, 1892 | White Mob Destroys Office of Ida B. Wells's Memphis Newspaper

Learn more about our history of racial injustice.

Show thread

Human Rights Watch Apr 7, 2023

These expulsions are racially-motivated, anti-democratic acts.

Now, the most traditionally-underrepresented and marginalized Black populations in TN are without their elected representation due to obviously racist actions.