This story was originally published by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Memphis voters braved the rain Tuesday morning to vote in the county primary election. As they headed to the polls, lawmakers returned to the state Capitol for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts. State Republicans are expected to eliminate the only Democratic-held seat: Memphis’ District […]
Tennessee Voting Rights
Voting rights in Tennessee are being reshaped. Explore what’s changing and what it means for Black voters and communities in the state.
For more on voting rights across the country, explore our Voting Rights in America coverage.
Posted inElections, Partner Content, Politics & Policy, Politics & Policy
Black Memphians Came to Fight a Voter Map That They Say Erases Them
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout. Breaking news: Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new U.S. House map Thursday that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections. A Tennessee […]
Posted inReproductive Health
Abortion Saved Her. Now It Could Cost Her Freedom.
Kneeling on the cold bathroom floor of her apartment, Kisha clutched the pregnancy test she had just picked up from the Walgreens down the street. She waited for a single blue line to appear. Instead, there were two. “When I looked down at that test, I didn’t believe it,” she said. “I told myself there […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
Black Residents Battle Against Tennessee GOP’s Effort to Ban Reparations
The Rev. Earle J. Fisher, an activist and longtime resident of Memphis, Tennessee, is battling against yet another assault on Black economic and political progress by state Republicans. Since the murder of George Floyd in 2020, these efforts have ramped up, particularly in majority-Black Shelby County, the largest county in the state. Just last month, […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones Won, but the Assault on Democracy Continues
Tennessee state Reps. Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones — the two young Black Democrats who were expelled in April after they joined gun reform protests on the chamber floor — handily reclaimed their seats in special general elections on Thursday, per unofficial results. Even so, civil rights advocates say that this moment ought to serve […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘America Can Go Only as Far as the South Goes’
Residents can’t afford to look away from the issues afflicting Tennessee, even though national media coverage has dwindled since April, when state Reps. Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones, both Democrats, returned to the General Assembly’s lower house. Too much is at stake, especially for those in Pearson’s city of Memphis, in Shelby County, which […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘This Is Not Democracy’: Read Justin J. Pearson’s Comments on His Expulsion in Tennessee
Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson — one of two Black Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled on Thursday — fit himself into a long history of civil rights activism when he told reporters that he’ll “never shirk back from civil disobedience” because that kind of defiance is “what built this country.” Like his fellow Democrat […]
