It was a chaotic morning in the Tennessee General Assembly as lawmakers raced toward redistricting votes.
Chaos just erupted in the Tennessee House as Democrats staged a walkout over redistricting that would split Memphis’s majority-Black voting bloc.
Protesters shouted “No Jim Crow” outside the House and Senate chambers as lawmakers convened to consider the legislation. As the Republican-led House later voted for the new map, Democratic lawmakers locked arms at the front of the chamber while protesters yelled and made noise — and then the Democrats walked out.
A noisemaking device, similar to a fire alarm, was deployed and then retrieved by state troopers.
Three protesters, including KeShuan Pearson, the brother of state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, were arrested after refusing to leave the House gallery.
A final vote in the Senate would sent the map to Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who called lawmakers into special session.
More: Special session updates
The proposed map would break up Tennessee’s lone Democratic-held district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis, creating a ripple effect of alterations to districts throughout the western and central parts of the state.
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the proposed districts were drawn based on population and politics, not racial data.
But Democrats dismissed such assertions.
“These maps are racist tools of white supremacy at the behest of the most powerful white supremacist in the United States of America, Donald J. Trump,” said state Rep. Justin Pearson, a Black Democrat from Memphis who is running for the U.S. House.
State Rep. Torrey Harris, another Black Democrat from Memphis, said he would lose part of his voting power as a result of the congressional districts.
“You cannot celebrate democracy while carving out Black communities,” he said. “We all know it, whether we say it or not, that this map impacts Black people negatively.”
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