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RACISM IN POLITICS
Why Rejecting Black Congressmen Has a Long History in America
They’re always suggesting Black men are illegitimate. That’s racist
If you thought the Tennessee Republican party's decision to expel Rep. Justin Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones, two Black duly elected representatives from their state's House of Representatives, for peacefully protesting gun violence was unjust, you're not alone. Notably, Snopes described their move as a "historic act of partisan retaliation," an "unprecedented" move. At the same time, former President Obama called their efforts a "sign of weakness" and suggested removing the Democratic representatives was a desperate move for Republicans with a supermajority to silence dissent. They already had the power to block any type of proposed reform. Yet, still felt the need to push their faces in the dirt. Democracy Now called their expulsion "a public lynching." At the same time, The 1619 Project Author and legal scholar Nicole Hannah-Jones referred to their expulsion as the "end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow-era tactics."
According to reporting by the Associated Press, Republican Rep. Gino Bulso accused the three Democrats, now known as the Tennessee Three, of having "effectively conducted a mutiny." However, calling a peaceful protest "mutiny" is pretty…
