Rep. Justin J. Pearson
Tennessee House of Representatives, 86th District
In 2017, Pearson graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, majoring in Government & Legal Studies with a minor in Education Studies. While at Bowdoin, he was a Mellon Mays fellow and was accepted to the summer public policy institute at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Pearson ran in the January 24, 2023 Democratic primary for a special election to succeed Barbara Cooper in the Tennessee House of Representatives. (Cooper died on October 25, 2022; in November 2022, she was posthumously re-elected with 74% of the vote.) Because no Republicans or independents filed to run for the seat, the primary victor was ensured victory in the special general election. Pearson won the ten-person primary with 52.3% of the vote. The next day, he was unanimously appointed and sworn into the vacant office by the Memphis City Council as the interim representative prior to the uncontested March 24, 2023 special general election. Pearson became the second youngest lawmaker currently serving in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Pearson was sworn in on February 9, 2023. While being sworn into the house, he wore a dashiki, a traditional West African garment. Tennessee House Republican David B. Hawk commented that dress norms for the House are a way to demonstrate respect, specifically mentioning that a tie was expected,] and Tennessee House Republicans tweeted to Pearson “perhaps you should explore a different career opportunity”.
Expulsion and reappointment
Main article: 2023 Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions
Expulsion and reappointment
Main article: 2023 Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions
After the March 27, 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville that killed three nine-year-olds and three employees, Pearson joined a March 30 protest for gun control reform at the state capitol alongside Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones. Pearson, Johnson and Jones became known as “The Tennessee Three”, and the Tennessee House voted on whether to expel the three members, which requires a two-thirds majority or 66 votes. Pearson was expelled by a vote of 69–26; Jones, who is also black, was expelled by 72–25. Johnson, who is white and 60 years old, was spared her ouster by just one vote, 65–30.
On April 12, six days after his expulsion, Pearson was reappointed to the Tennessee House following a unanimous vote by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners. [Wikepedia]
