ETTRICK – A Tennessee state legislator expelled from, then reinstated to that state’s General Assembly stumped for the Democratic presidential ticket here Thursday, focusing on young voters at two area colleges with this message: “We’re not going back.”
“This moment and this time require the best of our energies, the best of our efforts, the best of our talents to ensure that we do preserve the democratic constitutional republic,” state Rep. Justin Pearson told a group of Virginia State University students in an appearance at Ettrick Deli, across River Road from VSU. A Memphis Democrat, the 29-year-old Pearson was the featured speaker for a dinner and rally for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz coordinated by Virginia Democrats.
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Pearson was one of three state legislators targeted for House expulsion last year for staging a gun-law reform protest on the Assembly floor in the wake of a shooting at a Nashville-area school. On April 6, 2023, the House Republican majority expelled him and Justin Jones of Nashville while sparing Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, the only white member of the group.
Shortly after their expulsions, Pearson and Jones were reinstated to their seats by governing bodies in both localities. Since then, the group – known as the “ Tennessee 3 ,” have become darlings of the Democratic party. They got exposure at last month’s national convention in Chicago and were scheduled to speak at one point before being bumped at the last minute.
Pearson and Jones won their respective party primaries last month and will be up for re-election Nov. 5. Johnson won the Democratic U.S. senatorial primary and will square off with incumbent GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
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Eating, greeting, speaking
At the Ettrick Deli, participants ate takeout dinners from Styrofoam containers adorned with Harris-Walz campaign stickers. Campaign placards were posted all over the wraparound screened-in dining porch, including ones for Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Virginia, the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress. McClellan, who is facing re-election in November, was the event’s host.
In his remarks, Pearson focused on one of the common themes his party has followed – the possibility of reversing what they feel has been progress on economic and social fronts should GOP candidate and former president Donald Trump win back the White House. Specifically, he focused on “Project 2025,” a governance blueprint from the conservative Heritage Foundation on what should occur under a conservative president.
While Trump has taken public steps to distance himself from Project 2025, opponents insist that privately, the former president is endorsing them.
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“We have people who have a version of America that’s only about taking us back,” Pearson said. “They’re writing Project 2025, but it’s been their Project 2024, it was their Project 1964, it was their Project 1914.
“It’s all about taking us back to a time where injustice and inequity was the way that things operated in our country. But we’ve got one message for them, ‘We’re not going back.’”
There is “too much at stake” in the upcoming election, Pearson said, and that is why it is crucial for young voters to come out in droves for Harris.
“We have to have people in positions of power who actually care about us,” Pearson said.
The appearance at Ettrick Deli culminated a daylong sweep through the Petersburg area for Pearson. It began with meeting students at Richard Bland College, followed by similar on-campus meetings with VSU students.
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For student, it's about 'personability'
Most of the approximately 30 people on the porch were VSU students like 19-year-old Kristina Piercy of Henrico County. Piercy, a sophomore political science major in VSU’s Honors College, said the biggest takeaway she had was “personability” from both Pearson and McClellan.
“It was really great to see everyone here being present but also being open to hear everybody’s policies, being open to shaking hands, eating good food and just being here in the moment,” Piercy said.
Of Pearson, Piercy said she appreciated his “enthusiasm” for facing the challenges that lie ahead. It is enthusiasm that she said rubbed off on her and is making her look forward to voting in her very first presidential election.
Piercy said that to her and her fellow first-time voters, it is all about representation. While Harris checks all the boxes for that – the first woman of Black and Asian descent to lead a major-party ticket – Piercy said she admires Harris’ “advocacy and her drive.
“That’s very important,” Piercy said.
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: 'Tennessee Three' member urges young Democrats to vote against reversion: 'Not going back'
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