Justin Jones, one of the Tennessee state lawmakers expelled from his House seat Thursday, said on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” a member called him an “uppity Negro.”
Jones said, “I mean, the nation, the world was watching Tennessee, which is why they were on their best behavior. But even under their best behavior, you saw the disdain, the arrogance. I basically had a member call me an uppity Negro.”
He added, “This is the behavior of our body even with the nation watching them, even with the world watching, you see the assault on democracy that happened in the most extreme example was my expulsion because it’s not about me. It’s about the 78,000 people I represent. These young people, you know, one of the most diverse districts, being silenced because they’re upset that we don’t fall in line to their narrative of what Tennessee should be, and that’s a multiracial democracy.”
Anchor Joy Reid said, “There was another member you alleged said to you that you were a disgrace, and essentially called you uppity, but then wouldn’t do it when you put your phone up and said say that again on camera.”
Jones said, “I mean, this is a very hostile environment, but more importantly, it’s hostile to democracy. So what you see in there, they’re saying you should feel grateful to be here. They didn’t put me here. The people of my district put me here. That’s what they were trying to undo from the time I walked in January. I was made to feel like I shouldn’t be welcome here because I led protests here. I was arrested in this building over 14 times trying to remove a KKK statute that we finally removed from this rotunda where we’re standing.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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