Rep. Justin J. Pearson says Tennessee Republicans are not just redrawing lines, they are changing who gets heard.
In an interview with Lurie Daniel Favors on her SiriusXM Urban View radio show, Pearson said the state’s new congressional map splits Tennessee’s only majority-Black congressional district into three pieces, weakening the political power of Memphis voters.
“Tennessee only has one Black majority district in the United States Congress, and it’s District 9,” Pearson said. “It’s the only place that’s ever sent a Black person to the United States Congress.”
Pearson said the move comes as he is running to represent that district.
“They broke the district into three,” he said. “They are denying us our ability to be able to choose a representative of our own.”
He told Daniel Favors that the stakes go far beyond one campaign.
“We’re talking about the political deprivation that Black communities are going to experience in this moment and generations to come,” Pearson said.
He also said Memphis already receives fewer federal resources than other Tennessee districts, adding that the new map could make that worse.
“It also means that we are going to be denied the millions and millions of dollars, ultimately billions of dollars of resources that otherwise would come to our community,” he explained.
Still, Pearson said he is not stepping away from the fight.
“Short term, we still got midterm elections,” he said. “We still running.”
He urged churches, Divine Nine organizations, and families to treat voting as a shared responsibility.
“We’ve got to get to our familial organizing,” Pearson continued. “Every church has to ensure that every member goes to vote.”
Before the interview ended, Pearson directed supporters to his campaign site and made clear his next move.
“We’re not yielding,” he said. “We’re not bowing down. We’re not quitting now.”
