Nashville, Tenn.: The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will follow his colleague in a return to work at the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their banishments for a gun control protest on the House floor that propelled them into the national spotlight.
Justin Pearson was easily reappointed to his position by Shelby County commissioners Wednesday, and delivered a speech like a fiery pastor to a throng of jubilant supporters outside in a churchlike celebration. The Memphis lawmaker plans to be sworn in outside the Capitol on Thursday before returning for the House floor session that morning.
Republicans expelled Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting that left three children and three adults dead.
The appointments are interim and special elections for the seats will take place in the coming months. Jones and Pearson have said they plan to run.
The House’s vote to remove Pearson and Jones but keep white Rep. Gloria Johnson drew accusations of racism. Johnson survived by one vote. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, however, and noted that Johnson’s role in the protest didn’t involve some steps that Jones and Pearson took, including speaking into a bullhorn.
