divdevMay 8
Brian Jopek

This photo is going to be in the history books eventually.
#USpol

“The Sergeant at Arms blocks Representative Justin Pearson from Memphis from entering a committee meeting about redrawing the map specifically for the district he represents.

A white officer with a badge, blocking a black congressional member, from joining meeting that specifically targets the black district meant to give representation to people of color.

The segregation is alive and well in the south.” - Brian Garlick

May 7 at 11:45pmWeb
Show threadsamiamsamMay 8

@BrianJopek

republicans are assholes

racist assholes

Show threadMr Intergalactic KeyboardMay 8
@BrianJopek this is insane
Show threadPaul_IPv6May 8

@BrianJopek

to the south, the civil war has been a truce, not a surrender. they're still fighting it.

Show threaddecapitaeMay 8
@BrianJopek The nazi anti-patriots bring shame to the country, and disgrace the red white and blue flag they were brainwashed into worshiping as their god by upholding fascist beliefs and acting as agents of evil, driving wedges between citizens and making themselves a plague
Show threadstevenrayMay 8
@BrianJopek I would kick him where it counts and walk in.
Show threadTillman ReuterMay 8
@stevenray you’re white though
Show threadstevenrayMay 8

@tillmanreuter yep. Are you saying I wouldn't face the same repercussions as a black man? If so, I recognize that and agree with you.

I can't make decisions for other people or know what I would do if my identity were different than what it is.

Show threadTillman ReuterMay 8
@stevenray that exactly was my point yes. Thank you for your response!
Show threadstevenrayMay 8
@tillmanreuter 🙏🏻
Show threadJohn CrowdenMay 8
@BrianJopek we're going back to the 60's
Show threadAccordionBruceMay 8
@JohnCrowden @BrianJopek
The 1860s
Show threadMirishuliMay 8
@BrianJopek Do we know the officer? I’m thinking we need some mighty big billboards, names and all.
Show threadAxomamma, Antifa from birthMay 8

@BrianJopek Icing on the fucking cake:

"Republicans also voted to suspend required mail notices to make voter aware of changes to their voting districts. By law, when districts typically are redrawn, voters receive notice of such changes. For the 2026 elections, that notice is only required on websites."

https://www.aol.com/news/tn-republicans-pass-map-fracturing-211302807.html

TN Republicans pass map fracturing Black voting power in Memphis

House and Senate chambers devolved into chaos as Republicans passed a map drawn with White House input that fractures Black Memphians' voting power.

Yahoo
Show threadJojokingMay 8

@Axomamma

Everytime I see this room full of comfortable racists I feel sick and full of rage

Show threadFreddyB Aviation PhotographyMay 8
@BrianJopek This will be in the part of the exhibit next to Ruby Bridges about racism
Show threadhere for making friends and learning 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈♾️May 8
@BrianJopek makes me so angry... #acab
Show threadFan of Shared Truth & EmpathyMay 8
@BrianJopek Donald Trump is the President of the United States Confederacy representing the wealthiest owners of Americans.
Show threadderekMay 8
@BrianJopek This is what a majority of voters asked for in 2024. America is and always has been a deeply racist, deeply classist country. I don't see it changing much in my lifetime, unfortunately, most likely regressing even further than it already is.
Show threadRaglan Niall  May 8

@BrianJopek Great, terrible photo. After the next US civil war I hope they deal with confederates properly. My understanding (from listening to The Rest is History mainly) is that Lincoln* getting shot lead to the aftermath and nation building being very poorly handled.

*Edit: I incorrectly said Washington. @gregly corrected me.

Show threadGreglyMay 8
@Niall @BrianJopek Lincoln, not Washington, but yes, that’s essentially correct. Reconstruction was severely flawed and never truly completed.
Show threadRaglan Niall  May 8
@gregly Thanks for the correction :) @BrianJopek
Show threadGreglyMay 8
@Niall @BrianJopek No problem! BTW, making grid batteries from EOL EV batteries? Fascinating and awesome. I love to see sustainable tech reuse like that!
Show threadcontrasocialMay 8

@BrianJopek

Remember that this is ultimately possible because of the collaboration of the Supreme Court.

There should be no room in the opposition for anyone not calling to expand and reform the court. The power of individual SCOTUS judges must be watered down.

Show threadSordid Amok!May 8
@BrianJopek Norman Rockwell would've killed with a painting of this.
Show threadChris Silverman 🌻May 8

@SordidAmok @BrianJopek That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw this: it looks so damned much like a 60s Rockwell painting. The "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", 2026 edition.

This is why I'm uneasy about terms like "segregation-era" or "Civil Rights era" in reference to the period commonly associated with them: Those problems never really left. Much may have improved, but I think referencing these issues as though they're past history obscures how very present they still are.

Show threadSordid Amok!May 8
@csilverman @BrianJopek
I was thinking of The Problem We All Live With. But yeah, things get better, then get worse.
Show threadDr. Seltsam 🌎🎶🌳May 8
@BrianJopek
The white guy with his nazi hair cut, fuck'em.
Well, it stinks a lot in the pig empire, messing with the elections, classical move in fascist countries.
Show threadcwicseolforMay 8

@BrianJopek #alt4you Representative Justin Pearson, a Black man with a neat mustache and goatee in black glasses and a black suit stares down an older, close-cropped white man in a gray suit with badge, who has interposed himself against a door as a barrier to entry.

It would not be a stretch to describe Representative Pearson's stance as thoughtful, with his right hand to his chin, or the unnamed Sergeant at Arms as glaring back with a tight mouth.

Show threadEk Ong Kaar K MichaudMay 8
@BrianJopek This is why Mastodon continues to prove itself as the best qualitative social media site. Nowhere have I seen this photo. And it speaks thousands of words. Thank you for sharing.
Show threadReiner Jung 🇬🇱 🇺🇦 🇪🇺May 9
@ekongkaar @BrianJopek this is so true. The Fediverse and in particular Mastodon are my only source to get any info on No Kings, racism in the US and many other topics media in Germany ignores.
Show thread�May 8

@BrianJopek

>This photo is going to be in the history books eventually.

≥books

🤣 🤣

Show threadDevil Doll, Esq.May 8

@BrianJopek

Flipping important message! Let me put on my larger, more important glasses.

There we go.

Show threadGrumpyDad 🇺🇦🇵🇸May 8
@BrianJopek At this point I'm fairly convinced that things will end in lynchings, although I'm unsure who will actually do the lynchings.
Show threadjajMay 8
@BrianJopek I read the Gettysburg Address yesterday. I feels indeed like we have gone back several centuries
Show threadJuho MäntysaloMay 8

@BrianJopek

Just to give myself context: I understand redrawing is a common occurrence, and is done every few years. Is it common for congresspeople to take part, particularly concerning their own district? Would think that it would be done by some other elected body.

Show threadStarravenMay 8

@iju @BrianJopek

In theory, redrawing is done every ten years after a census to give every district an equal number of residents represented in Congress. If done fairly, congresspeople need not be involved.

What is happening now is some states are redrawing districts between censuses and rigging the boundaries to ensure each has a majority of Republican voters.

Show threadJuho MäntysaloMay 8

@starraven @BrianJopek

I see, thank you for explaining!

Show threadragectlMay 8
@BrianJopek Is the KKK member blocking the door named Jim Crow?
Show threadMUGISHA PHOCITMay 8
@BrianJopek This is total discrimination of people by color,and this is not of human.
When will this virus end?
Show threadRWFMay 8
@BrianJopek
The Confederacy lives because the US *chose* to look the other way after Reconstruction and decades of racist Jim Crow Apartheid policies in the South. Now thanks to Merrick Garland's slow-walking (and a corrupt SCOTUS), we're now living with a more sophisticated "James Crow, Esq." agenda.
Show threadxs4me2May 8

@BrianJopek

The KKK is back from the gutter… shame on them.

Show threadtekwim33May 8
@BrianJopek
Show threadArchaeoIainMay 8
@BrianJopek the US has become unbearable. A pariah in the world
Show threadLee 🌏May 8
@BrianJopek
There is a long list of how Trump is pushing back civil rights.
Show threadAllan Svelmøe HansenMay 8

@BrianJopek It's almost impressive how fast and openly this bigotry happens in the US again.

The reckoning still seems far away.

Show threadCaleb MaclennanMay 8
@BrianJopek Not a single word as to why or how this altercation happened? This is so patently propaganda — without any context for what lead to the pose the picture actually says nothing at all.
Show threadChris HayesMay 8

@alerque @BrianJopek
You criticize OP for lacking context, and yet you supply none.
You call it propaganda, and yet you present no evidence.

OP did not misconstrue events—Senate members are redrawing the map of Pearson's district to split the democratic vote, aka gerrymandering.

Pearson as a House member is allowed to attend Senate meetings, & vice versa.

Republicans moved the meeting location without notice and locked the room to block Pearson, his colleagues and the public from attending.

Show threadChris HayesMay 8

@alerque @BrianJopek
There's plenty of articles on it.

The NPR article shows how they're going to split the Memphis area across 3 districts. The census data shows this an obvious example of gerrymandering.

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/07/nx-s1-5815023/tennessee-redistricting-map-passage

Show threadDarwin WoodkaMay 8

@alerque @BrianJopek

Bye troll

Show threadbparconsMay 8
@BrianJopek ..alive, sadly yes
..well, notsomuch
Show threadJoanie with the Good Hair 😷May 8
@BrianJopek Ever was it thus in the USA.
Show threadadingbatponder  👾May 8
@BrianJopek Looks bad. More impact would be present if one had more background. I do not follow the normal news until he who will not be named is off the map. So I have not the foggiest clue what this is about. E.g. what the ensuing reasons given were for the non admittance, if any? A photo only says so much. Would love to hear both sides.
Show threadswggrkllr3rdMay 8
@adingbatponder @BrianJopek I call him the Orange One.
Show threadMatthew MalthouseMay 8

@adingbatponder @BrianJopek

The simplest reason for refusing admittance is that Representative Pearson is a member of the General Assembly's *lower* house and that was a *Senate* committee meeting.

Mind you, the could, in simple courtesy, have allowed him in to hear them pass the resolution that would gerrymander him out of office.

Show threadadingbatponder  👾May 8
@calmeilles @BrianJopek Aha. Very kind of you to explain. So it was to do with the Rules of Procedure. Tricky but good photo. Thanks for taking the time to explain this to me across the Pond.
Show threadHugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷May 8
@BrianJopek Who is the 'man' here. Justin is the man.
Show threadRobert FairheadMay 8
@BrianJopek And the conservative majority Supreme Court says there's no longer any racism in America! 🙄
Show threadswggrkllr3rdMay 8
@BrianJopek How gop started and how it turned out.
Show threadFun WeirdoMay 8
@BrianJopek "Zombie blocks the door"