UNREAL: Republicans pull BOMBSHELL move we feared

Tennessee has become ground zero with. Republicans trying to eliminate all. black representation in the deep south. in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's. voting rights act decision. Joining me. now is Democratic member of the. Tennessee House of Representatives, Justin Jones. Justin, um can I have your. reaction first and foremost to this. latest move by uh by Republicans in your. state to eliminate what was left of the. congressional districts that favor. Democrats? >> You know, Ryan, when I walked in the. capital last Thursday, it was pre-1965. And when I walked off the house floor,

it was pre-1965. What we are seeing is. the largest coordinated assault on uh. black political power in the south since. the end of reconstruction. Um you know, it was done with surgical precision. Donald Trump called the governor and. demanded that we have a special session. A couple days later, we were back here. in the general assembly in the general. assembly for session. Um had less than. 24 hours to look at a map and it was. voted on the next morning on the house. floor. And so, this has been rushed. through um all in service to the white. supremacist agenda um of Donald Trump. and and his allies who are so intent on.

keeping control of black and brown. communities at any cost um even when um. they know that their policies are. unpopular and that they're they're not. going to win this election cycle fairly. >> You know, the these people obviously. are familiar with with Tennessee and the. south more broadly, their history. And. so, is there is there any shame when you. speak to these people recognizing that. they know full well what they're doing, that this is just basically a redux of.

pre-1965. America? Like is is there is there any. Do these people look you in the eye? I'm. just trying to get a sense of of of how. they feel while they're doing what it is. that they're doing. >> I mean, these are folks who are drunk. with power. And and and you know, one. thing that came out yesterday that I. just think shows how blatant it is is. that we were under the the impression. that every Democrat was being stripped. of their committee. The speaker of the. house let stripped everyone except the. white men in our caucus. And so, um. every black member, every woman was.

stripped of committee, but the white men. in the Democratic caucus got to keep. their committees. We found out last. night. And so, it just shows um who, you. know, is dehumanized in spaces like. this. These are folks who um were. laughing as they were passing these. racist maps, laughing at the people who. were coming expressing their grief, their frustration at the process and the. and the taking away of their. representation. Um and these are folks. who, you know, traffic in the politics. of racism. You know, one of the members. who voted for this is is Representative. Paul Sherrell who just a couple years. ago joked about bringing back hanging by. a tree. You know, these are folks who. use racial slurs. Um I've been called.

boy multiple times as a colleague in. this building. You know, they they they. think that we um are back in the 1960s. and and they are very clear about that. And now this policy agenda is bringing. us backwards to that time in which we. don't have equal representation um in. our Democratic process in which, you. know, we may not even have black. lawmakers at the federal level ever. again um as long as these type of racist. Supreme Court decisions stand um in the. South because we're not just seeing it. in Texas see, but Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia. Um there's an. assault uh war being waged against black.

folks in the South and it's it's a civil. war and and we must call it for what it. is. It's a Jim Crow agenda um being led. by these these white supremacists who. wear suits and and and and and, you. know, have decorum, but our their their. actions are violence against communities. of color and and and political violence. in terms of taking away our voice in in. our democracy. >> I I I completely agree. And so, recognizing. the fact that these Republicans will. stop at nothing, that efforts to. compromise with them will garner us.

nothing, that they had this idea where. they wanted to enact their 60-year plan. to overturn the Voting Rights Act, and. they're actually doing it right now, and. and it would only be foolish to think. that anything that the left does is. going to like to to cooperate with them. or compromise with them is going to stop. them in any way. What should the left do. to counteract what we're seeing right. now? Like. amid all of this, amid all of these. actions, what steps need to be taken now to kind.

of right this ship? >> I mean, you know, this is a moment to do. things out of the ordinary. You know, when I walked off the house floor, I. burned a Confederate flag. outside the house chamber to draw. attention. to the need for urgency and moral. clarity in this moment. We are facing. folks who are trying to bring us back. into the Confederacy. You know, I felt. like I was at a capital clan rally. These are not folks who are playing by. normal rules and procedure. These are. folks who want control by any means. necessary. And so, we need folks across. this nation,

states to respond in kind. We need to We. need to treat this with the. proportionate response that it requires, you know, to to to remove them from. their offices with with new maps, you. know, in states that can do it in New. Jersey, New York. But, I don't want to. just make this a partisan thing because. I think that's what these Republicans. are trying to do. What we're seeing is. is racial gerrymandering in the South. Because they're saying, "Well, this is. just partisan tit-for-tat. We're doing. it cuz you did it." But, no, what. they're doing in the South is racial. gerrymandering. Memphis, Tennessee,

a 51% black community has now been. gerrymandered where they're connected to. a district 300 mi away. >> Yeah. Diluting the black vote, diluting. their representation. In my community. here in Nashville, you drive 30 minutes. from one Krispy Kreme in Nashville to. one on the outskirts of Nashville, just. 30 minutes, you pass through five. congressional districts. That's how. insane these maps are, just to visualize. it. And so, these are racial. gerrymanders. This is racial backlash. You have folks who are now saying that. we want to go after the 14th Amendment. You have folks who. are saying that, you know, this is what. they've been waiting for to dismantle. the Voting Rights Act since 1965 cuz.

they thought it was racist against white. people. I mean, this is the absurdity. that we're hearing here. And just to be. clear, when they created the maps in. Tennessee, the speaker of the house. said, "There's no There's no race. involved. We just use census data. And. so, it's it's partisan." But, Brian, if. you know census data, census does not. say what party you are, but it does say. what race you are. These were racially. drawn maps done by racist, um, you know, folks who have surgical precision to. silence and and carve out the voices of. black and brown communities in the. South. >> I was on NewsNation about a week or two. ago and I was debating with the host.

Katie Pavlich and her talking point on. this, when I brought up the fact that. uh that that Tennessee has been. gerrymandered within an inch of its life. and that there there the the voting. power. um for black and brown communities in. Nashville, in Memphis has been. completely cracked into multiple. districts, completely diluted, um, was. that the South has been desegregated as. the result of this Voting Rights Act. decision. And so, what would your. response be um, to these Republicans and. right-wingers who suggest that that this.

Supreme Court decision was actually. desegregation and not segregation? >> I mean, it's absurd. It's absurd in a. moment in my state in Tennessee. One in. five black Tennesseans cannot vote. because of felony disenfranchisement. In. my state, we are seeing a resegregation. of our schools because we're defunding. our public education system to give. white, wealthy kids vouchers, coupons to. go to private school. I mean, we are. seeing a resegregation of our of, you. know, this this this resurgence of the. Southern aristocracy, um, all um, in. service to an agenda that is fearful. that America is becoming more diverse. and multiracial. Um, you know, what this.

what this decision did, Brian, was. create all nine districts in Tennessee. are now majority white. Even though. black people are over 20% of the. population and black and brown people. together are over 25% of the population, every one of Tennessee's nine. congressional districts are now majority. white. They've created majority white, um, districts in our state like we've. seen back before the 1965 Voting Rights. Act, diluting minority voting power, diluting our voice in the political. process. And it was done intentionally. Um, and and and and what what the. consequence is going to be is that we've. seen this in Nashville. We have. congressmen who live over, you know, an.

hour or two hours away, have no offices. here, and so our constituents don't have. services, they don't have support at the. federal level. They're calling our state. offices trying to get support because. they cannot reach anybody, um, at the. federal level because they don't even. see us as worthy of being, you know, responded to. And so we are we are. treated like we're a colony essentially. um without you know, having a voice in. our democratic process. Um and it's and. it's being done again across the South. to bring us back to times we don't want. to go to. That's you know, when they say. they want to take this nation back, they're literally taking us back to. pre-1965.

And they're not going to stop there. And. that's what the message to the nation is. that, you know, if we don't fight this. in the South, we we know they're going. to wage they're waging a battle against. multiracial democracy all across this. nation. And so we are the canary in the. coal mine. >> When you said that you burned a. Confederate flag, what was the reaction? Uh did you encounter any any anyone else. from the state legislature? >> I mean, I know that some of my. colleagues are calling on for me to be. arrested. You know, they they've said. that it's arson even though it was a you. know, it was a a flag that was burned. and nothing else. Um but you know, to me. it's very telling that these racists who.

I work with who call themselves. representatives are more offended by the. burning of a Confederate flag than they. are about the burning down of our. democracy. I think that that shows us. where their loyalties are and where. their um concern is. You know, these. people are literally creating our. arsonists for democracy. They're burning. the democratic process, burning through. um all the protections that we have and. and spitting on the graves of our. martyrs, people like um Viola Liuzzo and. um Jimmy Lee Jackson, um Medgar Evers. who literally were murdered and and. killed, you know, fighting for things.

like the Voting Rights Act, the crown. jewel of the civil rights movement. And. so this is who these folks are. And. they're unapologetic. Their mask are off. or better yet, I should say their white. sheet their white hoods are off and. they're showing us exactly who they are. >> You had mentioned before that Democrats. need to respond in kind. What would your message be to those. states that have had the opportunity to. move and yet haven't yet? And then more. broadly, just your message to to state. legislators and governors across the. country where right now Democrats do. have the majority. May perhaps not the. ability to redraw maps for 2026, but as.

we move toward 2028, where frankly we. haven't seen much movement. I mean, yes, we got a map redrawn in California to. neutralize what happened in Texas. Kudos to the folks in in Virginia and. and shame on the Virginia Supreme Court, but we have other weapons right now that. could be wielded. New Jersey, New York, Maryland, where both Bill Ferguson is. blocking the effort. Illinois, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and other than those. two states that I mentioned at at the. top, we haven't seen any movement at the.

same time that we're seeing movement. from the Republicans in Florida, in. Texas, in Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio. And so there. is a a pretty big asymmetry here in how. the two different parties are wielding. power in this case. >> You know, we still have Democrats who. are acting like this is early 2000s. politics. You know, the that world of. normalcy of our politics is is gone. You. know, we are in the midst of we have to.

say that this this is a war. It's a war. for the future of our democracy. And the. South is a front line in that battle. And so, you know, to I would say to the. governors and to the lawmakers in those. states that this is a moment to put our. morals above our manners. You know, what. is moral is to act not just for us, but. for generations who are counting on us. what we do in this moment. I think we're. going to be judged not by what we do, but by what we don't do. And so, I would. err on the side of action. Err on the. side of doing something because come a. couple years and then our democracy has. crumbled and we're back in a. re-segregated America,

people are going to be looking at who. did not act. And so, I would encourage. the states of New York, of Illinois, of Washington, of Oregon to take action. And and and if if you need us to come. from the South and tell you what the. stakes are, I'm happy to do that. I was. just in Sacramento this week and I came. from the South to Sacramento to lift up. what's going on here because people I. think they they they don't understand. the stakes of what we're fighting right. now. And and and the ancestral trauma that's. coming up as we're as we're dismantling. black voting power. And how it's going. to spread across this nation like a. cancer. And so, I I think that we need.

you know, our democracy requires a. disruption sometimes. We need folks to. disrupt the normalcy the business as. usual to do something bold and to do. something you know, that that is. proportionate to the. opponents we face in the battle that we. face because they're they're being you. know, they are ruthless in their hold. for control and we're still trying to. make friends with folks who are are. literally aligning themselves with. authoritarianism and care less about us. and the people we represent. >> Justin in your conversations with folks. who are around pre Civil Rights Act, pre.

1965, how do they maintain the strength to. keep going recognizing the extent to. which we have we have slid back? Like. these people have been there before. I. think I think for for younger folks, black or white as long as they're on the. side of democracy, like we we obviously. all see. kind of the the the inequity and the. horror of what's happening right now, but but it's new for a lot of us and and. I think I think you know, for people.

who've seen this before, there's got to. be a certain. a certain degree of trauma that that I. think people who weren't around prior to. the Civil Rights Act. kind of shoulder onto themselves. And so. what have those conversations with folks. been like? >> Yeah. You know, I was just talking to. Miss Diane Nash. She was one of the. leaders and organizers in Selma in 1965. and today is actually her birthday. Today and and you know, I was talking to. her about what this moment means in our. history. You know, they they gave their.

life's work and some and she said you. know, our friends gave their lives. pushing things like the Voting Rights. Act and to see this president the. Supreme Court spitting on that work. spitting on those graves. I think there. is there is a trauma being resurrected. because you know, these are things that. we it hasn't even been 60 years and. already though the gains that we thought. were won are being dismantled. And I. think the lesson in this is that if you. study things like reconstruction, there's a moment where you had. multiracial democracy in the south. You. had black lawmakers and then you had. this white backlash at the end of the. 1800s, and you didn't have black leg-.

legislators in the South until 1960s. again. And we can get back to that point. of of of deconstruction, and and and I. don't think it's alarmist to say that. we're headed in that direction. Um and. so I think, you know, what what the. message is is number one, is that the. fight for freedom must be fought in one. in every generation, that the civil. rights movement is not just something we. should read about, but it's something. that's actively happening right now. And. we're facing the Bull Connors, the. George Wallaces, these white. nationalists of today, and we have to be. just as courageous as and and as. relentless in resisting them. I'm. heading to Montgomery tonight for a. large rally of of southern, you know,

organizers and and and and black. lawmakers across the South gathering in. Montgomery to say that if you come for. one of us, you're coming for all of us. And it has to be multi-generational, it. has to be multi-racial. That's what we. represent. Um and that's what they're. afraid of, you know? And so I think. that's that's the message that we're. hearing. And number two, that one of the. most important lessons one of one of my. mentors told me is that you can judge. the effectiveness of your protest or. your movement by the response of your. opponents. So the reason that they're. acting like this is because we're being. effective. They've been out-organizing. them. They're fearful of of if things go. out, you know, as the rules would allow, that they will lose power. And so they.

know that we've been effective in. organizing here in the South, and so. they have to cheat to maintain power. And so it shows how fragile these these. white men in power are. It shows how. weak this system is. Um and and and and. it shows that it's a death rattle of. this of this white supremacist system. And so they're trying to take us down. with them, but we we're going to fight. like hell, um you know, for our for. ourselves and for generations who are. yet to come. >> Justin, how do you how do you um. how do you keep the faith at a moment. like this, where you have all the cards. stacked against you, things are actively.

moving in the wrong direction, and it. doesn't feel like on the horizon at. least immediately there is there is some. solution to this? And so how do you wake. up on a daily basis and go into work in. a in a you know, in in the Tennessee. House of Representatives, where there. are so many people who are perfectly. content to, as you said, align. themselves with these white supremacist. institutions, and still and still do that despite and. still and still do that despite any. feelings of of hopelessness or. >> I've had a very unusual.

time here in the legislature. I was only. in office for 3 months before I was. expelled by these same white. Republicans, you know, kicked out as the. youngest black lawmaker. So, I've I kind. of, you know, come in with clarity that. I'm not here, um, you know, to make. friends with these folks, but we're here. to make change for our district, you. know, and I think, you know, what I see. is that. courage is contagious, you know, when. these maps were being passed, it didn't. happen in silence. People rose up, shut. down committees. Um, you know, we you. know, people that this movement is. growing and they're fearful of it, you. know, and and which is why they're. passing things like banning curriculum.

in school cuz they're afraid that kids. are too conscious right now, which is. why they're passing things like felon. disenfranchisement because they know. that if we actually turn out in our. numbers, um, we can get these folks out. of office. And so, you know, the South. what what gives me hope is that we are. not a red state, but we are just a state. that has been oppressed for so long, but. I think you can only push people to a. certain point before it's like that. spring. And I think we're getting to. that point of of momentum where you're. seeing that there's going to be a. reckoning happening here. And then I. know that, you know, we we we are. indebted not to our only our ancestors, but to our children, those who are. coming after us. But I don't want to be,

um, insincere and say that it's it's not. hard sometimes. I mean, it being here in. the South as the youngest black lawmaker. can be isolating. You know, being kicked. off my committees, having colleagues. who, um, call me boy, you know, my first. week in the legislature Jack Johnson, the Senate majority leader, told me that. I'm worthless and I'm not supposed to be. here. These things that, you know, these. are the reality of of where we work, but. it also gives me clarity of what we're. fighting against. And I'm I'm I. appreciate that the racists here, um, you know, have the Confederate flag that. they're honest about it cuz at least it. it is not as subtle and and as as, you.

know, below the surface, but our. opponents and what we're facing is is as. clear as day. And it's so anybody who's. denying that we're in a racist America. right now, pay attention to what's. happening in the South. They're telling. us who they are. And so, it's no longer. this post-racial after Obama racism's. over, but we're seeing no, the racists. are here and they're telling on. themselves and and they're showing who. they are. And so, we should need to show. them who we are, too, and that we are, you know, the descendants of of the John. Lewis and MLK and Ella Baker and Fannie. Lou Hamer, and we're going to fight like. hell like like those who came before us. to make sure that they don't drag us.

backwards um to a time we don't want to. go to. >> I know that you uh you just mentioned. that you went to Sacramento um to so so. that folks over [snorts] here where I am. in California and across the country can. kind of get um get a better sense of. what's happening uh in Tennessee uh and. in the South. For those who are watching. and listening right now, what can we all. do to help? How can we be most helpful. in this moment? >> Yeah. I mean, number one, I think there's. power in presence, you know, I know. we're going to be putting out a call for. folks to come to the South. Um this is a.

frontline in the battle for our. democracy right now, and and and so. often people only pay attention to North. Carolina and Georgia, the quote-unquote. swing states. Um Tennessee may not be a. swing state, but we're a state that will. swing back um when when when we're. kicked. And I think Mississippi's the. same, Alabama, South Carolina. We cannot. write off or abandon any state in this. moment. Um we are facing the forces of a. new confederacy, and the only thing that. will defeat it is a coalition of United. States against this new confederacy. And. so, um joining with us, you know, as. there's calls action, I know we're going. to be putting out a call to action for a. freedom summer here in Tennessee,

calling on folks like they did in 1964. to come south, help us engage in the. largest mass voter registration. mobilization campaign since the 1960s. Um sending resources because, you know, states like ours are so underinvested in. the national Democrats are not going to. come and and and often, you know, don't. don't see the worth of places like this, you know, but this but we know that our. people um are scrappy, and that we can. do a lot even with a little resources. And so, standing with us, um helping us. to build infrastructure, um we have. amazing organizations where we're we're. we're building um the Southern Defense.

um coalition that we're going to be. looking in launching. Um and so, you. know, just keep an eye out for that. And. and to really amplify what's going on um. because I think some people don't. realize um how quick this descent into. white um. supremacist Jim Crow systems is is. happening. It's happening at lightning. speed. Um and and I think people need to. understand that um. as goes the South, so goes the nation. That they have a southern um strategy, and we need to have our own southern. strategy of solidarity. And so now's the. time to show solidarity with states in.

the South. Um and and I appreciate you, brother, for amplifying this, cuz I. think so often, even, you know, a state. like ours is is not the stories are not. told in in national media, and and we. need to let the world know what's. happening here. Uh because if if it can. happen here, it's it's going to spread. across. We're the tip of the spear, but. they're not going to stop here. And. that's that's the the message I want to. send to America is that that, you know, if if they're doing this here, that. we're the testing ground. We are the. laboratory of what they want to spread. across this nation. Project 2025 was. Tennessee 2024. It was Alabama 2024, Mississippi 2024. We've been dealing.

with these forces for so long. So pay. attention to us, because we we have been. resisting them. Um we've been under. maggot control long before. 2026, 2025, you know, we we've been. dealing with this for a long time. And. so, you know, folks are experts on on. how to fight this, and and I have been. key in in building this coalition to. multi-racial democracy. >> Well, I I could not be more grateful for. your voice. I couldn't be more grateful. for the fight, even with all these cards. stacked against you. And I know that. everybody watching and listening right. now feels the same. So Justin, I. appreciate you taking the time today.

>> Appreciate you, brother.