Justin Jones And Justin Pearson Called ‘Throwback’ To The Civil Rights Movement

With Justin Jones and Justin Pearson reinstated to the Tennessee Legislature, Black Americans and many others are still applauding the courage of the two lawmakers.

“Today we are sending a resounding message that democracy will not be killed in the comfort of silence,” Jones said Monday on the Capitol steps after he was returned to his former seat by the Nashville Metropolitan Council by a 36-0 vote.

The Shelby County Commission reinstated Pearson by a 7-0 vote Wednesday.

Both were expelled from the Republican-controlled Tennessee Legislature for their vocal advocacy and participation in a gun control protest. Republicans argued that the lawmakers violated rules for decorum. But the expulsions were short-lived as many Americans and the global community rallied around Jones and Pearson.

“For older people like myself, it echoed the 1960s,” said Ray Winbush, who is an author and director of the Institute of Urban Research at Morgan State University. “That direct action that Carmichael, King, SNCC and the Black Panthers took was evident in these two Justins. This is a throwback to the 60s.

Vice-President Kamala Harris went to Tennessee where she praised Jones, Pearson and Gloria Johnson, the white legislator who escaped expulsion by one vote.

Speaking at Fisk University, a Historically Black College and University, Harris said, “They understood the importance, these three, of standing to say the people will not be silenced.”

Winbush taught at Fisk for years and explained students are taught to “be political.”

Winbush added, “Individuals play a great role in movements, and we can’t name many individuals now who have sacrificed.

Citing the bravery of Jones and Pearson, Winbush recalled a conversation he and veteran social activists have shared.

“We say, ‘These kids ain’t ready to go to jail.’ But we didn’t care,” he said. “But their lives [Jones and Pearson] are in danger now.”

The protests of the past decade have maximized a slogan, ‘Black Lives Matter’. During the Civil Rights Movement, the slogans included the names of activists like Angela Davis and Huey P. Newton.

Winbush said, “Today we remember the victims’ names more than the people fighting to end injustice.”

But “the sacrifice of these two young men” has reminded Black America and the world of the power of one or two willing to take a stand.