Rep. Justin J. Pearson

Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson talks Legislation and the XAI in Memphis on The Bev Johnson Show on WDIA Radio.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Belin, show Bell, chompass talking and home away.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
How you go you go so getting ready in time.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Leesco Bell Dozin will make your day.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
My herold w D to listen to what to say?
You know it's Tampa, the.

Speaker 4 (00:35):
Belt of Fish, the Belt of Showy leco. Oh Yeah,
we're rocking and rolling on the Friday, Friday, April twenty fifth,
twenty twenty five. Hope you enjoyed this fabulous day to day.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Get ready to put your ears on.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
I will be talking with our Tennessee state representative, Justin
Pearson will be in the house. But before we do that,
let me tell you about my favorite place.

Speaker 5 (01:06):
You know it we rock.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
With the best soul food in town, the best entertainment around.
It's the Rocking Chair of Memphis fifteen forty two Elvis Presley,
where you can dine in or you can take out.
Give them a call at nine zero one for two
five five two six four nine zero one for two
five five two sixty four where you can get catfish

(01:29):
and buffalo fish, fried or baked, chicken smothered or fried
to pork chops, pot roast, hamburger, steak, smoked turkey, necks,
and Miss Ann's famous chitlins.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
At the Rocking Chair.

Speaker 4 (01:42):
An assortment of vegetables and an assortment of desserts are
waiting for you at the Rocking Cheer. They're serving until
five o'clock this evening open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday two. They're closed on on Tuesday and on Mondays.
You get person off with your city and county employees

(02:06):
and veterans and senior citizens. So head on by the
Rocking Chair of Memphis, where we rocking with soul food.
And tonight we're rocking with karaoke. You think you can sing,
but hey, can you sing with a band. It's karaoke
night with the band? Y'all y'all be singing with a band,
So head on over to the Rocking Chair. This evening,

(02:26):
doors open at six o'clock. It's grown folks style, the
best security in town. I'm telling you, I wouldn't go
there if I didn't trust the security.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
And they bad was that Robin's officer, Robinson, He's.

Speaker 4 (02:40):
In charge, and he makes sure his staff treats you
with respect and dignity. They're gonna take care of you
at the Rocking Chair, So head on over to the
Rocking Chair fifteen forty two, Elvis Presley. You can dine
in or you can take out. Nine zero one four
two five five two sixty four nine zero one four

(03:00):
two five five two sixty four. When you go there,
y'all tell them BEV Johnson sent you to the Racking
Tier of Memphis, fifteen forty two, Elvis Presley. Before I

(03:25):
talk to our guests, I forgot to tell you all.
Don't you all forget that? On Sunday Overton High School,
it's the Jimmy Launceford Legacy Awards Program. They are giving
some wonderful awards and they're gonna honor. I state, I
called to my Mama Cooper, my Mama Barbara Cooper. They're
gonna honor miss Cooper over there on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
It's free, y'all.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
Overton High School, Sunday, April twenty seventh, five pm. The
Jimmy launcefort Legacy Awards Program. And you heard Brother Ron
talk about it. So they're gonna be honoring a lot
of good folks over there. So going over there Sunday afternoon,
absolutely free. Overton High School, Sunday, April twenty seventh, five

(04:09):
pm and they're gonna honor Mama Cooper. And speaking of
Mama Cooper, that was my mama, that was my other mama. Well,
he took up place and he's here, and boy, you
I don't know what I'm gonna do with you state
representative justin Pearson?

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Are you Representative?

Speaker 6 (04:23):
I am doing well.

Speaker 5 (04:24):
Happy to be here with you, Queen Bev Johnson and
with your amazing listeners.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well you are just amazing to me.

Speaker 4 (04:32):
And I love it because you're a young man and
you're trying to do something.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Before we talk about stuff going on in Memphis.

Speaker 4 (04:39):
Man, y'all had a I'm gonna say it because I
can say it. I can say y'all had of a
hell of a run. Slection A represented Pierson. What's going
on in Nashville?

Speaker 5 (04:50):
Listen, the Digital Assembly is doing what they always do.
They're punching down. They're not addressing the issues that people
really care about. And I've learned now, I think three
times in when they this sort of routine. You know,
they want to attack black folks, they want to attack
immigrants and undocumented folks, they want to attack queer folk,
gay folk, they want to attack women, and then they
want to attack poor folk and Memphis and Shelby County

(05:12):
in particular.

Speaker 6 (05:13):
Right, and they just they just recycle this.

Speaker 5 (05:15):
So my first time they were doing this thing, attacking
what's called ESG corporations who cared about having women on
their boards and hiring opportunity youth.

Speaker 6 (05:23):
Right, that was the first attack.

Speaker 5 (05:24):
And then the next year they has deviceive concepts, made
it illegal for you to talk about racism. And because
some white girl got hurt, her feelings got hurt a
seven y right, And now this year it's let's dismantle DEI.

Speaker 7 (05:36):
Right.

Speaker 5 (05:36):
It's like y'all are the most broken record in the world.
And our budget as a state keeps expanding. We had
a sixty billion dollar budget. Wow, But our poverty rate
keeps growing, right, Our number of veterans who are unhoused
continues to grow, Our issues of environmental racism continue to grow.
So even as the budget is exploding right in our state,

(05:58):
we aren't seeing the services in our communities across the state.
Whether you be in Memphis and Shelby County or you're
over in Kingston, poor white folks ain't getting resources either
because the system is geared toward corporate.

Speaker 6 (06:10):
Welfare for the rich.

Speaker 5 (06:12):
And the well connected in our state, but the legislature,
they try to do all these things to distract us
away from the fact that they are not doing anything
to improve the quality of lives for people in this state.
And anytime I meet my conservative brothers, sisters, siblings, I
tell them, if you have a complaint, it's very likely
that a Republican did it. And so here's their name,
their numbering, their email. It isn't the liberal Democrats. It's

(06:32):
those of people who have been entrenched in power in
the General Assembly since.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
You've been there, Representative Pearson, have you ever found out
or asked them why they just hate Shelby County? But
I mean over here, what is the deal?

Speaker 5 (06:49):
I mean, the whole thing is, and we all know
what it is. Yeah, it's, I guess the blackest county
in this state, and we're the largest county in this state.
And they don't like that, right, you all trying to
govern yourselves, You're trying to run things and rule things
and be in control, and they don't want to see that.
And they've been upset that Republicans have lost, you know,

(07:10):
Amy Wyrick loss. They've been upset, yes, right about you know,
not having control over Memphis and Shelby County, to the
point that the Speaker of the House Camera Sexton, said,
you know, I need to be an overseer of these
more liberal, larger cities, right, And so they don't believe
we deserve self government. And when we have it, we
have responsibility to use it to protect our communities. When

(07:32):
we have people in positions of power as our mayors,
our city councilors, our county commissioners, our school board, we
need to be wise whip that power in that authority
to break the shackles that have had us bound.

Speaker 6 (07:43):
But that's what it is. It's about.

Speaker 5 (07:45):
Anytime we make it look like we're making any progress,
they want to take that away. That preemption and all
these types of laws are what we are up against.
And it's been that way for a long time. It's
been that way for a long time.

Speaker 4 (07:57):
And you were speaking of Memphis Shelby County School was
going to know that bill it died, So when it
when it would explain to us when when we say
it died, So can it ever come back or what
will happen?

Speaker 8 (08:10):
Right?

Speaker 5 (08:10):
So great question. So there was legislation in the wake
of Superintendent Fagans. The idea was the school board needed
more accountability. And personally, I'm a person who thinks the
school board needs more accountabilities with you, yes, should not
be elected officials.

Speaker 4 (08:24):
Rather, I've said this and and and not to cut
you off, but I'm glad you said that. I said
they need accountability. Some of those folks don't need to
be on the board. And and my belief represented Pilson.
I just think that people who are on a school board,
and some people disagree, they need a little background in

(08:45):
education to know what what you know?

Speaker 2 (08:47):
What? Come on now?

Speaker 4 (08:48):
But that hey, dev Johnson said, I keep saying they
need something, but I'm like you, some of those folks
don't need to be there that anyway, you know, we
know some people want to become superstar.

Speaker 6 (09:02):
That's it, that's it.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
You know.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
I only know one stupid superstar, Jesus Christ's me.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
But but but don't get me started here school because
I'm passionate about education.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
I've been an educator and so when you think about Lord,
our poor children, they're not thinking about them.

Speaker 6 (09:24):
But anyway, go on, So you're you're absolutely right.

Speaker 5 (09:27):
I think there are some folks who are in position
who are not putting the best interest of students first.
And I think at the General Assembly we were running
up against this too. There were people who were pushing
this legislation that in part had to do it accountability,
but then they started to add some other stuff, right,
like the ability of this new board to be able
to take over the real property of Memphis Shelby County

(09:48):
schools and give it to charter schools or corporations. Right,
it started to, you know, devolve into some other things. Well,
you're a school board can select it's superintendent, but if
we don't like them, we can deny them, and if
we deny them twice, then we get to point our
own superintendent to be in control of your two billion
dollar budget. You know, it was a lot of anti
democratic things. There was a lot of exploited if things
that started to get put in the legislation that showed

(10:10):
you their intent wasn't to improve the quality of outcomes
for people in Shelby County and children in Shelby County.
It had to do with the money grab of resources.
And so now we do have legislation that was passed
to term limit commissioners at the Board of Education to
two terms similar to the to the County commission terms
four years and the Shelby County Commission.

Speaker 6 (10:32):
I'm very hopeful they're going to pass that legend.

Speaker 5 (10:34):
I hope because we do need to have some term limits,
because that's that's our referendum on people, right is at
the ballot box, and we need to show some folks
who have maybe just been recently elected that you don't
get to operate in a way antithetical to what the
communities and schools need.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
So so can this come up again.

Speaker 6 (10:52):
This bill, this legislation.

Speaker 5 (10:53):
Yes, so this legislation can come up again next year, Oh,
next year. The problem that they ran into was the
Senate version of the House version were quite different in
some substantial ways. The House version of the legislation would
have had the Governor and the Speaker of the House
select the members of this oversight board. The Senate version

(11:14):
said the Shelby County Commissioners would choose the members of
the oversight board. That was one difference that they really
and truly just could not reconcile, probably the most substantial
one that they couldn't reconcile. And so because of that,
Mark White, who was the sponsor on the House Side
and Brent Taylor, who is against Memphison Shelby County in
a thousand ways to Sunday couldn't reconcile the legislation, and

(11:37):
so for this year it didn't work. Next year they
may try again, and we have a responsibility, I think,
to hold our school system accountable to help to raise
up in some of the ways that we need to
to meet higher standards than we have in the past.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
Could you explain to me what that poverty is not bill?
What was that all about? Did you have that? Because
I kept reading about gonna what is pop I don't.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
Note there's a lot of that, And when I was
reading about that, some ain't gonna make a bill, but
I don't know Representative Pierson.

Speaker 5 (12:14):
So there's a lot of legislation that gets passed or
that gets filed and presented that is not what you
would consider reasonable people to be advocating for. For instance,
there's the bill against people who were homeless, yeah, you know,
and criminalizing homelessness. You can kick them out, you get
them very short notice, you can kick them out of

(12:34):
wherever they're living, clear the entire area in the name
of public safety. And then those folks can actually have
or face a criminal penalty. We're just being homeless living
near highway, right, Like we're seeing legislation again. You target people,
you attack people, but you don't address the root causes
of things I see every week. You know, there's legislation

(12:56):
to make more things crimes or increased level of penalties
for crimes, which to me just means further incarceration. Because
we have private prisons in the state of Tennessee, which
many people know we have at least four of them,
we're patting the pockets of people profiting off of folks
being incarcerated. We're padding the profits out of the folks

(13:17):
who are providing the food services down at two a
one popular right, We're not doing the systemic things necessary
to prevent crime, to prevent people from being incarcerated. We're
not addressing those root causes. But we get talking points, right,
some of these elected officials that get these talking points
that they can bring back to their district and then
there's some source of pride. Or you have some leaders,

(13:39):
even in my own political party, who choose to be
more quiet so that they can pass a bill. Right,
doesn't matter that the bill isn't addressing anything that's really
dealing with anything. It's just so that they can come
back to Memphis and say, well, look what I.

Speaker 6 (13:52):
Passed this thing.

Speaker 5 (13:55):
But then that was it, right, And it's just like,
but you didn't deal with the issue that are hurting
and plaguing us in a real substantial way, and when
they were doing things harmful to us, you didn't say
anything because you just wanted to pass a little bill, right, Like,
we got to hold elected officials accountable to a higher standard.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
Yes, we do, we do. I agree. I know.

Speaker 4 (14:15):
One of the things that before you were elected into office,
you were very passionate about the environment. What's going I
know you're still passionate about the environment, especially what's going
on in Shelby County and Memphis and this big thing,
the x AI.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
This is this is a this is a mess.

Speaker 5 (14:36):
It's an absolutely it's a mess, and it's a it's
a it's a mess created in part by our elected
and appointed officials.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (14:45):
Right, we allowed the Greater Memphis Chamber, Yeah, to work
with Mayor Young and Mayor Lee Harris and Director Taylor
and Doug McGowan to auction the lungs and the air
quality of people, particularly in three eight one zero, but
in this entire county for the profit of the richest
man in the world. And a lot of folks getting

(15:06):
upseted me, you know, because I keep calling people's names.
But I'm not gonna stop. Because everybody who is an
appointed or an elected official has a responsibility to do
not what is in the best interest of business, not
what is in the best interest of billionaires, but what
is in the best interests of people in Memphis. And
if you really think thirty shekels of silver is in
the best interest of Memphis, well you keep saying that.

(15:27):
But I believe that what's in the best interests of
Memphians is that we can breathe clean air, drink clean water,
plant and clean soil, not worry about being in danger
or harmed by gun violence, that we deal with some
of the real problems that we have as it relates
to youth engagement and the need for more resources and
access to opportunities. Right, we can have different visions. But

(15:48):
people like Marly Harris, who refuses to say anything about XAI.
He was very happy when they came and had all
these statements then, but now being completely silent as our
community is screaming and crying out for people in power
to do something, to say something, to resist what's going on.
These folks keep lying to us. They don't tell us
what's going on in the first place, and then when
we do hear something, they say, oh, we just have

(16:10):
fifteen turbines. And then you know, a week later, the
Southern Environmental Law Center, amazing law firm, comes out and says,
actually is thirty five of them, and then oh, absolutely,
And then we get the Chamber Memphis Chambers saying well,
they're only using fifteen and the.

Speaker 6 (16:24):
Rest are for storage.

Speaker 5 (16:25):
And then people like Mary Young, they say that said
the same thing. They thought XAI run by Elon Musk
was telling them the truth, and they said, oh, it's
only fifteen, but they're storing the other twenty. And then
last night thermal images come out of thirty three of
the turbines operating out of the thirty five. So we're
just being lied to about the level of pollution, harm

(16:48):
and damage coming to our community. And we have a responsibility,
as people entrusted with the public trust, to not trust
multi billion dollar corporations to tell us the truth, but
instead demand people like doctor Michelle Taylor and the Shelby
County Health Department go to these facilities, learn what is there,

(17:08):
and hold them accountable for the pollution that they're creating,
or stop the pollution until they get the appropriate permits.
I don't care about Elon Musk's bottom dollar. I don't
care about Valero's bottom dollar. I don't care about the
tvva's bott None of that matters to me. What matters
is that people in Memphis and Shelby County, for another year,
the American Lung Association has given us an ef and
air quality. That's what I have a problem with. I

(17:29):
have a problem with this being the third year that
Memphis and Shelby County has been out of containment for
the level of smog, which we know triggers respiratory illnesses
in our community. I have a problem with the fact
that Shelby County has the most children in the hospital
due to asthma related incidences than anywhere else in the
state of Tennessee.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
See.

Speaker 5 (17:47):
Those are the things that we have to address, and
that is only happening because we've allowed certain people to
be exploited, certain people to be harmed and hurt by
environmental injustice and environmental racism. The lesson to be learned
is that this air travels. It doesn't just stay in
one place. Y'all. We are all suffering, we are all

(18:08):
breathing less good air. But if we keep thinking that,
we can sacrifice people who are black, who are lower income,
who are lower wealth on the altar of capitalistic exploitation,
because we want to be the next Silicon Valley, as
some people say, no, we're going to be the next
death Valley. That's what we're setting ourselves up to do.
And we have to do a better job as elected officials,

(18:28):
appointed officials. But we the people have to show up
and speak up and stand up. Which is why today,
right at five o'clock we're going to be at fairly
for that public hearing about this pollution.

Speaker 4 (18:38):
We are speaking with state Representative Tennessee. State Representative Justin
Pearson is here. We'll open up our phone lines if
you have a question or two for him. Nine zero one,
five three five nine three four to two eight hundred
five zero three nine three four two eight three three
five three five nine three four or.

Speaker 2 (19:00):
Two will get you in to us.

Speaker 4 (19:02):
You're listening to Double d i A the Bevjsential.

Speaker 7 (19:13):
Ladies and gentlemen, you're listening to the Queen of Talk, Bev.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
Johnson on DO W D I A.

Speaker 6 (19:50):
You're listening to the Bev Johnson Show. Here's Bev Johnson, and.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
I'm speaking with Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson. Representative Pearson.

Speaker 4 (20:00):
We're going to our phone lines to talk to some
of our listeners.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
W D I A. Brother, Bernard, the new miss Johnson.

Speaker 9 (20:10):
Representative Pearson.

Speaker 6 (20:12):
Are you, brother, They're good to hear you.

Speaker 8 (20:15):
Good, good, good man.

Speaker 7 (20:17):
You know what.

Speaker 9 (20:17):
I applaud your approach.

Speaker 10 (20:20):
Of course, as a past legislative intern, I understand the
struggle in that in that building, and I'm a consentuent
of District eighty six, and so I applaud you again, brother,
push on.

Speaker 9 (20:36):
But you know, I'm curious to learn what what you
will say.

Speaker 7 (20:42):
About When I sort of heard yesterday.

Speaker 11 (20:47):
Doctor Michelle Taylor, Uh uh, well yeah. Director Taylor alluded
to the possibility of of some people resistant the h
the establishment of of of X A I as a
as a means of increasing the donations that are coming

(21:10):
from it. And so when I heard that, uh, and
it's you know it, it sounds pretty transparent as far
as you know your voice and and and her stance
on yesterday. But when I heard that, I automatically felt
as though she might have been alluding to you because
you are the front runner.

Speaker 12 (21:30):
Uh.

Speaker 9 (21:30):
And the pushback on that, and I thought, wow, you
know that was put out there, but so I will,
you know, listen to the response. I agree with you
that there there is much more that our our other
officials can do as far as speaking out about that
about those concerns. But Ms Bell, thank you for taking

(21:50):
my call and represented the Pearson push on brother.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yes, sir, you're welcome. Yes, Ma'm bye bye w D
I A shorty Mac.

Speaker 13 (22:03):
How you doing Bill?

Speaker 2 (22:04):
I'm doing well, shorty Mac.

Speaker 7 (22:05):
And you I'm doing good.

Speaker 13 (22:07):
How you doing?

Speaker 6 (22:09):
Representative Curious doing fantastic. Good to hear you.

Speaker 14 (22:13):
It's good to hear you. Good to get you back
in the city safe. I just want to say I
appreciate you.

Speaker 7 (22:20):
We've been watching.

Speaker 15 (22:21):
You up there in Nashville.

Speaker 12 (22:23):
I like the way that little.

Speaker 14 (22:24):
Heat of situation you hound back here about a month ago.
I don't think you're gonna have no more trouble out him.
I know you knew the laugh about it, but.

Speaker 13 (22:36):
You handled that pretty good.

Speaker 14 (22:38):
Justin and uh, like I said, this is coming from
Shorty Mac. I just want you to keep up the
good work man, and be safe man. Any type of
way you can get you a security detail because I'm
just you remember the old Puzzic Enemy song.

Speaker 13 (22:52):
Don't trust them.

Speaker 14 (22:56):
I just want you to be secure and safe man.
What's going on with this meeting and scene?

Speaker 7 (23:01):
And what is it all about?

Speaker 2 (23:04):
All right? Thank you, Chardy Mack And he's going to
answer that.

Speaker 15 (23:06):
Go on, OK, fine, thank you?

Speaker 2 (23:08):
All right.

Speaker 5 (23:10):
This evening, at five o'clock Fairly High School, the Shelby
County Health Department is holding a public hearing about XAI
and the gas turbines they are using. The permit that
they've applied for is only for fifteen turbines, despite the
fact that we know they have thirty five at that
plant currently. So five o'clock PM at Fairly High School,
public hearing about Xai's use and possibility of having permanent permits.

(23:34):
And at four point thirty we're going to have a
press conference and a brief.

Speaker 4 (23:37):
Rally before I go to our phone lines our listeners.
Representative Peerson and this is Randall. He says, I love this.
Helen Keller was born without site. She once said, what
is worse than being born without site, being born without vision.
Seeing and vision are not the same thing.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
We need vision to move forward. Thank you, Representative Justin Pierce.
I love that. Thank you, Randon.

Speaker 4 (24:07):
I know and this email says, hey, Bev, there are
other prominently black cities that turned down this XAI plant.

Speaker 2 (24:16):
Atlanta was one of those cities.

Speaker 4 (24:18):
Ask Representative Pearson why does he think Memphis was chosen?
And also please ask him what were the other black
cities that said no to Elon Musk's xai plant because
of health problems it could cause. I can't imagine Elon
Musk bringing anything positive to a majority black city.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
Thank you, Bev and Representative Pearson.

Speaker 6 (24:40):
Awesome.

Speaker 5 (24:40):
And I want to answer Brother Rinard that point that
you mentioned about Director Taylor. While I'm in session, I
actually can't raise money, and so for the last several months,
I haven't been able to raise a single dollar to
our campaign or to our committee or anything like that,
as we have been in this fight. And so it's
a little disingenuous for someone to say that. But now
that she's said that, we'll send out an email so

(25:01):
we can start raising money. Because you know what, we
do need to have some rallies, some protest. We do
need to make sure that we have resources to have
pamphlets and literature go out, because we had people sending
out fake propaganda to our neighborhoods. I don't know, if
you live in South Memphis, you've got this. They send
out mailers saying this pollution is nothing more than just
like a gas station in your neighborhood. And so we

(25:23):
do need resources to fight back against these lies, that
the Shelby County Health Department should be using their resources
to inform and educate our community about the truth and
not just sitting on the truth and not doing what
they can with the power that they have to stop
this pollution from happening. And so she probably said that
also because she and Mayor Lee Harris are in my
sights right, and I am very angry and frustrated at

(25:44):
the way that they have not taken this situation seriously,
have not taken the healthcare of our community seriously, have
not listened to the voices of people who are crying
out in three eight one h nine, in particular, saying
look we got COPD, look we got breast cancer. Look,
we sleep with seapap machines. Look, our kids are going
to the hospital with asthma, and you all are deciding
to do nothing, and so all the personal attacks are
probably gonna come. But you know what, God built me

(26:07):
for this, and so we're gonna be all right. And
then you know, why was Memphis chosen? I think, honestly,
I think Memphis was chosen because we have water that
if you use more water as a corporate corporation, it
gets cheaper. Now, think about that, you use more water
in corporation, it gets cheaper. Now, Queen bev if you
use more water, what happened? It goes, it goes up, ye,

(26:27):
bill goes up.

Speaker 7 (26:28):
Right.

Speaker 5 (26:28):
And so they found a place that would work for
their business model. And now they're talking about they're gonna
build a plant where they can recycle the water in
southwest Memphis. But if anybody's been listening, they just built
or just bought some property in white Haven to million
square feet of property and there's no water recycling facility
over there. So they're gonna be using our drinking water
for the cooling of these plants. It's nearly impossible for

(26:50):
them to use air as some people have recommended or
suggested it, So they're gonna be using our drinking water
in that way. So I think they were thinking about
the natural resources. I think they wore thinking about the
political resource. Are they going to be people there who
are going to push back and stand up for their people?
And overwhelming we have seen our elected officials answered that
question as no, we're going to listen to what the
greater Memphis Chambers says, and whatever they say, that's going
to be gospel. And so they look for a place

(27:12):
they could pollute environmentally, and they could pollute politically and
exploit politically. But they didn't count on the people speaking up,
learning figuring out how this works, building coalition together like
Memphis Community Against Pollution, Protect Our Aquifer, Young, Gifted and
Green Tennessee Sierra Club, a Southern Environmental law Center. They
didn't count on that coalition that helps stop a billion

(27:33):
dollar pipeline rallying together to say clean air is a
human right, and y'all not doing this in Caryville in Germantown.

Speaker 6 (27:40):
But if it's so good of an idea, go take
it over there.

Speaker 4 (27:45):
W d I A Hi, Tony, Hello, how are you today?

Speaker 7 (27:52):
I'm great Representative Peers and how are you? And I
just want to say, first of all, I'm so proud
and I'm so grateful and thankful for God putting you
in place that you are. Also, I want to say
condulecens to you and your family. Uh. One of the
things I wanted to bring up was it's concerning you
say that you know how things are going up there
at the State And when I saw Representative Shaw the

(28:14):
clip that they showed him and how he voted, Uh,
do you feel as though or what is good? I'd
like a little light shedded on that, not to change
the subject, and but how do you feel as far
as the way his representation was and how did he
represent you all when y'all stood up like you all
did you and the other representatives? And you know, did

(28:34):
he take does he take a backseat or was that
a good place for him? Or how did that go?
And also I just wish mifles would wake up as
a people to see that they're in a great position
as a black people to do things and make things
benefit themselves and do the right thing. Could you could
you reflect on that? Please?

Speaker 8 (28:51):
Sir?

Speaker 4 (28:52):
Thank you Tony Tony from Brownsville, thank you, Tony Okay,
he's from Brownsville.

Speaker 6 (28:57):
I love that. I love that look.

Speaker 5 (28:59):
Representative Johnny Ja and I haven't had the best relationship.
I pray and always want the best things for him
and for his family, but I do not know if
he is the best representative for that community. Quite honestly,
he votes overwhelmingly with the Republican Party despite the fact
that he is a Democrat, and he typically does not
favor legislation that I'm bringing forward. And so I think

(29:23):
the vote that you saw him take when he said,
I'm not going to vote for this because I didn't
like the tone of the person behind me. A bill
that actually was going to make it so that if
you got one of these payday loans, it was going
to increase the interest that you were going to pay.
So it was a bill attack in poor folks, and
he sided with the Republican Party on that and so,
and I know you're in browns Bill, but I don't

(29:43):
think he's the best representative for that community. And I
do hope the in the in the coming year and
years we start to see a turnover in leadership in
the Democratic and the Republican side, and then just sort
of the last thing that you mentioned. We Memphis. We
are a beautiful place. We have great people, we have
great culture, we have great history. We need leaders who

(30:04):
believe that too, and don't believe that we have to
be sold out on a platter for billionaires to like us.
That we've got enough resources, We've got enough goodness here
that we need to nurture and continue to foster that
deserves its own investment.

Speaker 4 (30:21):
WDA High caller, Hey Bell, Hey Janis.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
How are you?

Speaker 3 (30:29):
I'm great, Bell, how are you?

Speaker 2 (30:30):
I'm fabulous sister.

Speaker 16 (30:33):
And you represented Bob Parson.

Speaker 5 (30:35):
I'm doing better hearing your voice. How you doing, Jennis?

Speaker 16 (30:38):
I'm good. I am not gonna hold you guys up.
I'm gonna let a lot of other callers get in,
but I'm listening to you, and I just wanted to
say I am so proud of you. You put tears
in my eyes, and I'm so glad that you are
representing us. I am definitely behind you, and I know
from watching Nashville they never have had our best interest

(31:02):
and I know they don't have our best interest now.
And it's really sad to say that even our politicians
and people in power and Memphis sometimes they do not
have our best interest. So I am glad that you
are there and you are representing us, and I am
gonna keep you in my prayers, and thank you so
very much.

Speaker 4 (31:21):
Thank you, Janis. I appreciate you. W d I A hi,
little daddy.

Speaker 13 (31:29):
Well the two jolly green down you see you see
them three foods?

Speaker 4 (31:32):
Yeah, I was gonna, I was gonna tell you, little
little daddy, you know it's three.

Speaker 2 (31:38):
It's it's it's four, it's five, dugits.

Speaker 13 (31:41):
It's really to hold out of ben Uh.

Speaker 8 (31:45):
I forgot to put that slow motion uh goon or jess.

Speaker 13 (31:49):
And then there he the head.

Speaker 8 (31:50):
He scrimped, you help not he the ball.

Speaker 13 (31:54):
Head was asked toupid just that go stay called my name?

Speaker 7 (31:58):
Bill?

Speaker 2 (31:58):
You're okay?

Speaker 4 (31:59):
I so yeah, you get your question. I got for
the representative peers. Okay, what's your question.

Speaker 8 (32:08):
Yeah, he's a good guy.

Speaker 13 (32:09):
He seemed like a good guy too.

Speaker 8 (32:10):
I'll tell you, of course, the bill, but I'm gonna
put him in my black guy's cat because he seemed
like the good role model.

Speaker 7 (32:16):
Whatever. That's how I roll. Bill.

Speaker 8 (32:19):
My person is to represent it. Okay, I stay in
the downtown area.

Speaker 7 (32:24):
But I got I.

Speaker 8 (32:26):
Got uh my sister then stay over in the in
the Chicken saw billage where chick us off school at.
And I'm just worried about this stuff, uh that leg stuff.
And then I they got me smelling that stuff.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
Down there down in the Dawn Town.

Speaker 8 (32:43):
I ain't trying to get sick. Say what y'all gonna
do about that?

Speaker 4 (32:46):
That's what I want to know, all right, Little Daddy,
Thank you, Little Daddy, have a good weekend.

Speaker 8 (32:51):
Let me get washed out out and I'm want to
get my children and treason of Fays that loves to
look that.

Speaker 13 (32:56):
I love him back bell be out a good weekend.

Speaker 12 (32:58):
Here, and you too, little Daddy, Bye bye you.

Speaker 4 (33:02):
Two, Little daddy said, Little Dad said he think he'd
be smelling that stuff.

Speaker 8 (33:06):
He do.

Speaker 6 (33:07):
I mean, it's absolutely true.

Speaker 5 (33:08):
And you know, if you are downtown, you are right
next to Frank Pigeon Park right, whether you know it
or not, it's right to the left. If you go
to any tall building, you look to the left, you'll
start to see hundreds of these facilities that are over
there that have really been under the radar. Because the
most harm has happened to Mallory Heights and Riverview, Kansas
and box Town and Westwood, but we are all breathing

(33:30):
less good air. And I know the smell that you're
talking about, particularly if your family lived down there near
Chickasaw School. And the reason that I'm so adamant in
this fight against politicians and appointed officials like doctor Taylor
and Mayor Lely Harris is because I do live there.
And when you wake up in the morning and you

(33:51):
and it smells like sewage is in your home and
is outside, or rotten eggs and sewage or sulfur, and
it weights you up out of your sleep, you understand
that something is happening to you. And for a long time,
I think our community we've kind of been ashamed of
what's going on. But it isn't our fault, right, That
isn't from people littering. That's from our community being treated

(34:14):
as the litter box, as the garbage can, as the
dump of industrialization in our city, as if our lives.

Speaker 6 (34:20):
And our lungs don't have value.

Speaker 5 (34:22):
And so that smell is real, and I've been smelling
it literally since I was a kid, not realizing what
it really was. But then you have, like we do,
two grandmothers who die from cancer in Westwood and you
start to connect the dots. Somebody has been allowing for
us to be exploited, allowing for us to be killed.
And so when you are in downtown, you definitely are

(34:42):
gonna smell that just as much, just like we do
in southwest Memphis, but it's definitely more potent if you will.
And the question isn't necessarily just like what what's justin
going to do?

Speaker 6 (34:52):
What are we going to do?

Speaker 5 (34:53):
And so we need to show up today at five
o'clock at Fairleig High School and say no more pollution
in Shelby County. We need to go to Memphis c
AP dot org, Memphis Commune Against Pollution, go to Memphis
c ap dot org, Memphis c ap dot org and
send in public comments against more pollution from x AI
and Elon Musk as well as the Tennessee Valley Authority

(35:14):
because they're trying to build six combustion turbines at the
same time. Right Like, it's just endless, endless, But if
you think, if you, if you, if you devalue the
people enough, you will make other folks think that they
can do whatever they want to them. And so Memphis
c AP dot org, let's all send in our comments.
Let's all show up. Let's all fight together.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
W D I a hi common man?

Speaker 3 (35:37):
Hey?

Speaker 7 (35:38):
Hey j Micyle? How you doing?

Speaker 13 (35:41):
Representative peers doing fine?

Speaker 6 (35:42):
How you feeling I'm doing?

Speaker 7 (35:45):
Fan?

Speaker 16 (35:45):
Uh?

Speaker 13 (35:46):
Let me say to you first of all, I'm a.

Speaker 15 (35:48):
Great supporter of yours. I think you're a great fighter.
I absolutely were supporting you in the attempt to re
establish the permit to carry it out. Which of you
know the other people shot down? I was looking at
a report last about two weeks ago, and it reported
something like over when it was well over three thousand
guns stolen last year, and over fifty six percent of

(36:11):
those guns were stolen from cars. And so I think
that permit to carry it has a great impact on
people carrying their guns out without the permit in which
it was shot down. Also, I saw the images and
there are well over fifteen turbines burning over there at
their place. What I couldn't understand yesterday did be excuse

(36:32):
was when doctor Taylor said that they have submitted or
requested a permit to allow those fifteen burners to burn turbines.
She said that then they could go in and you know,
determine if everything is in order or not they can
shut it down if you know, if they found reasons
to do so. I can't understand why does it take

(36:55):
them to have a permit before they can go in
and regulate? Can you speak on that, representative?

Speaker 13 (37:01):
And my last question is this My last question is
this is I think I think did you say that
the commissioners will be passing a law that will reconstruct
the time limits the terms school boy?

Speaker 5 (37:17):
He says, yeah, there is legislation that allows for them
to do that.

Speaker 15 (37:22):
Yes, huh, okay, I thought I thought I heard you
say they will be doing that.

Speaker 6 (37:28):
I don't know if it's come up, but I do hope.

Speaker 15 (37:31):
So okay, okay, So I thought it was already in
processing and I was about to actually wasn't going to
be retroactive. But you can't answer that, No, it's.

Speaker 4 (37:39):
Not because they're they're because they're going to have a
meeting on that that to get that, I understand that's
coming up, coming man.

Speaker 13 (37:45):
Yes, okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 15 (37:48):
So if you can answer that, why would it take
a permit before they can go in and begin to regulate,
because that don't make sense to me.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
All right, Thank you, coming man, Thank you.

Speaker 5 (37:58):
Coming man, it don't make sense because it's it's not true.
I mean, we got enough common sense to know that
if I tried to build a fence in front of
my yard, I had to get a permit. If somebody's
trying to build a power plant in our neighborhoods, certainly
they have to get a permit. And certainly the Chief
Public Health Officer has the authority, through the Clean Air
Act and our local implementation Plan today to go into XAI,

(38:21):
to record what she sees, make it part of the
public record, and to cease the operations until they get
the appropriate permit. There is a willful disregard by Maorly
Harris and Director Taylor to protect our air quality, and
all of the obfuscation, all of the lies, all of
the delays are not going to stop us from fighting
to breathe clean air. And so the reason it didn't

(38:42):
make sense is because it don't make sense and it's untrue.
It is completely and utterly untrue that today we cannot
regulate a business that is polluting our community with more
nitrogen oxide potentially than the Memphis Airport and thirty tons
of nitrogen oxide seventeen point two tons of for maldehyde.

(39:05):
We're being embalmed as we were living and breathing. You
can't tell me that they don't have the authority to
regulate that, because you know what, our attorneys looked at it,
sent her several letters showing her where she does have
the authority to do it, but she's refused to respond
adequately and refuse to do what is her job. And
the only reason I can think that's happening other than

(39:26):
just a wilful neglect of our people, is because the
Mayor Lee Harris and his silence is telling her that
she can't but she has the authority to regulate it.
Don't just ignore that. Recognize that that's what she said,
and that that's entirely and completely wrong.

Speaker 4 (39:42):
Wdia, Pauline Bill, how you doing doing well?

Speaker 2 (39:47):
Pauline?

Speaker 1 (39:48):
I want to say hello to the wi Lynsis and
your gifts. Now you all talking about another type of pollution.
I want to talk about South Memphis three eighty one
oh nine district pandemic ever hit. I went to every
one of our city councilors. I went to the mansion
which is on Mississippi and eat it and I talked

(40:11):
to them individually, and do you know that they talked
to me like I was crazy bell and my throat
was burning this way. Before they came up with this,
I hadn't even heard or what is it that turnpipe whatever?

Speaker 2 (40:32):
AI?

Speaker 14 (40:33):
Yeah, right, So I'm.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
COPD and emphasema and some days my throat would just
burn like you put cologne in it. And I kept
going to the doctors. They kept giving me this pump,
but I refused to use it. Let me tell you something,
It's something in the air. And I was telling them
before pandemic ever was heard of.

Speaker 13 (40:58):
And everyone in.

Speaker 1 (40:58):
Our city councilors sit up at that mansion up there
in Mississippi, and Edith can tell you I've been there.
But they talked to me like I was not even
a citizen, like it was my fault that I couldn't breathe.
And we have a lot of older people over there
with respiratory problems. So we're talking about.

Speaker 15 (41:21):
Some other stuff new.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
This has been going on for a long time, and
if we don't do something about it, we dine off.
We dined off by the tens and the twenties in
that community. Every day, I'm counting we dined So I
want to just drop that in your lap and maybe
something can happen.

Speaker 4 (41:41):
All right, thank you, have a great day, you too,
w d I A Hi Meridith, Hey, damn you.

Speaker 2 (41:50):
I'm doing well in.

Speaker 3 (41:51):
You fan tire taking representative. Pearson as usual is already
the president. I am the number one thing, whether you
know it or not. So listen. I did speak to
doctor Taylor on yesterday, and I also spoke to the
mayor today, and I must tell you that I am
totally disappointed in both of them, and especially doctor Taylor.

(42:14):
Now I'm gonna look at this. It's two different things.
One of this year doctor from the health department. She
comes on the radio and she just gives us encouragement
and advice and health. He's excellent on that. But political wise, yesterday,
I mean, you can tell, at least for me when
she was talking, she don't want to She don't want
to be involved. And I'm not sure if it's then't
want to keep their position, don't want to be the

(42:36):
ones to get their hands dirty. I mean, I don't
know what it is, but it was obvious that he
wants nothing to do with the uh, the gas chambers
that they're bringing him and y'all call them gas Chambers
that they're bringing into Tennessee. So I know the show
is short and you said a lot, so I don't
want to talk about that too much, but I do
want to donate to your campaign. She did next your campaign,

(42:56):
and when she said that, I was flaborgast. I thought
that was I thought that was a ridiculous for her
to bring up that. Hey, you know, hey, people try
to get money for their campaigns and that's why they're
sticking their neck out. That they want to be seen,
they want to be hurt. And that's not your personality
at all. I mean, that's not who you are, that's
not who you represent. That same how you sound. But
as a citizen, I do, I do want to support.
I mean, whatever you do, again, I am there for

(43:18):
So how do I donate if you heard it all
to your campaign, because I mean you, I want you
to have it.

Speaker 5 (43:24):
Whatever I can give you are mentally kind. Our donation
stuff literally, because I just got a session ain't even
up yet, it'll be up by monday, but you can
go to vote justinja dot com, just my website vote
justinj dot com and by monday it'll be it'll all
be ready. Is set to go. But that's the other
thing Doctor Taylor must not know that when I was

(43:44):
twenty five, five years ago, I helped our community in
the fight against the Bahlia Connection pipeline to protect our
water from being polluted to it make sure Scottie Fitzgerald
and Clyde Robinson and their family's land wasn't taken by
emminent domain. I don't have to do and I don't
do any of these things for money. It isn't financial
for me. It's for the fight for our life, which
he is supposed to be protecting, which Lee Harris is

(44:06):
supposed to be protecting, and they're not doing it.

Speaker 3 (44:08):
And that's how Lee Harris founds today. I mean, instead
of him talking about the issues, I mean, he was
more so campaigning. I got fifteen months last and to
see what I can do in this fifteen months. I'm sorry.
I'm just totally disappointed in them as black leaders. I
mean I really was. And for them to tell that
this disparishy your character by saying pretty much you know,
he's just trying to be loud, to be saying to
be her, it was it was a little bit ridiculous.

(44:30):
So I want, you know, I wanna lose my thoughts
so fast and mean write it down vote justinja dot com.

Speaker 4 (44:36):
That's it all right, thank you Mary, I got to
thank you, bye bye, bye bye, and I'm gonna get
these last three calls, so make it quick in short
to the point. Fellows, Hi, Bootsie.

Speaker 13 (44:48):
We're hero have a Friday to you and tooth three
represented mister Pierson. Yes, yes, I'm old cool.

Speaker 7 (44:58):
I grew up in this city.

Speaker 13 (44:59):
I've been in look see all my life, but I
travel all across the Country's turn for then in terns.

Speaker 7 (45:04):
Look here.

Speaker 13 (45:05):
What I want to say is it's to consider about
the crime, all this shoding killing that been going on
for the last few months up till last night, all
yesterday over there, Booker T. Washington, I feel that you
need to do something. You need to speak up on
the behalf of the folks downtown at two or one,

(45:25):
probably them judges and them lawyers down there and set
need him bonds and releasing the criminals and meet him
shoes and killers out on the street again. They already
on that one go this morning, and he need which
I was second to greed murder. So I feel that
what you need to do, you need to put your

(45:45):
foot down and start bringing in this depth pendity, because
the more all this shooting, killing and going on every
day in the state of ten in Messal, Tennessee, is
still going on, and ain't nobody doing nothing about it?
That mayor I ain't doing nothing about it. Things like
he's scared to speak up. He's supposed to have power,
he's supposed to know how to go down there and

(46:07):
talk to those people down there them judge it and say, look,
y'all needed justice has got to be prevealed. Stop all
this building and this bond and the here criminal's back
out on the street. Get hear killers, and he hear
murders and putting him right back in and it's on
the streets and they kill him more everything.

Speaker 8 (46:24):
They hit the streets, and it just got to be prevealed.

Speaker 13 (46:27):
It got to stop because everything look around, it's always
killing and killing, killing, and but.

Speaker 2 (46:35):
You know it's you know, Representative Pierson.

Speaker 4 (46:39):
He can only do so much because legends, you know,
in those laws. They passed the laws, and it's hard
to get them passed.

Speaker 13 (46:47):
Hey, you know what I needed to join. I need
to joint you man. I need to.

Speaker 2 (46:54):
Run, all right, run for office. Bootsy, Thank you, Bootsy Princess.

Speaker 17 (47:00):
You Hey, Beth, how are you going to day this
great representative parentson?

Speaker 6 (47:07):
How you doing, young man? Good to hear you, They're.

Speaker 13 (47:11):
Good to hear you.

Speaker 17 (47:12):
Tell I know the last time we had a good
controversial conversation, but I enjoyed it just as well. One thing, Ben,
I have.

Speaker 3 (47:20):
To say this.

Speaker 17 (47:20):
You know, I'm not the tackle bite my tongue one
of you. Two between doctor Taylor and you, somebody's lying
to the public about this here about the air quality
that we're take complete. But I just listened to doctor
Taylor yesterday and she maintained me and says, I'm comfort
here what she said. Now I'm listening to you, and
I'm comfor hending to what you're saying. Somebody between the

(47:42):
two of you have dropped the ball, completely dropped the ball.
So I got to do finished doing my research. I
won't I would love to have a book for you
on on BEV show to argue this fact because what
she said yesterday and what she said they did and
death an equal up. The last question to you represented
a person. I noticed your agenda that you represent. Well,

(48:04):
you're always throwing in the homosexual community, especially the transgenders.
Since twenty twelve, we talked about this. What law has
not affected them? That has affected everybody else? And do
you believe that a child or person under the age
of eighteen to have this surgery done on them dealing

(48:25):
with transgenders?

Speaker 2 (48:27):
All right, friends, thank you, friends, all right.

Speaker 17 (48:31):
Thank you, Jempy. I have a good glass and stavement
healthy with you.

Speaker 5 (48:34):
You take Representative Peerson, Yes, thank you again. I told
you this on the last call. Anybody who's oppressed, I'm
on their side, and that's never going to stop. I
believe the doctor Taylor is not doing the best job
that she can to protect our air quality, to protect
our communities, and I'm not gonna quit saying that. And
I believe marily Harris needs to step up to and

(48:56):
and do his job in advocating for Shelby County to
have cleaner air. And I would just offer you just
google Southern Environmental Law Center Elon musk XAI, right and
read every letter that has been submitted to the Shelby
County Health Department. Right, don't just take my word for it,
don't just take her word for it. We all got
to do the work and I'm trying in the short

(49:17):
time that I have to give as much information based
on the facts that I have and have been presented.
But doctor Taylor and marily Harris in particular are responsible
in this moment for stopping this permit, and they have
failed thus far and protecting the air quality of the
people in our community. Saying that they have fifteen permits,
then we learned that they have thirty five. Other folks
saying they have fifteen but twenty years being stored. Then

(49:38):
we learned thirty three of them, or on just yesterday.
I'm giving you the facts that I have based on
the truth, and anybody else I believe who is not
articulating the truth. They have another narrative, they have other
issues that they want to really bring to the forefront.
But my only issue is one is that clean air
is a human right, and anybody who is hurting the
air of people in Memphis and Shelby County I have

(49:59):
a problem with, and right now that is XAI in
the pollution that they are bringing forward and the Tennessee
valid authority and the persolution that they're bringing forward. But
don't just guess, don't just call in, don't just listen
to the radio, Hey, do some work, and then call
in with questions that you have to. My other friend
who had a question about the shootings and killings that
going on. Two people at BTW shooting that rang out

(50:20):
right here near the medical district, had a constituent. A
person in our district at least downtown get killed at
tom Lee Park right like we still are dealing with
the gun violence epidemic. Don't let up in our advocacy,
in our fight to get lost changed, and not just
continue to offer more police as our resolution and solution.

(50:41):
We have to put money into violence intervention programs like
He'll nine oh one, and to people who are doing
boots on the groundwork is budget season, reach out to
the mayors and demand that more resources be invested in
violence intervention so that we can prevent these crimes from
happening and that we can provide resource and access to
people who need them. Just the last thing I want

(51:02):
to say about Paula Ann in the comment that she
said having COPD and emphysema and being ignored, legacy.

Speaker 6 (51:08):
Pollution is what it's called.

Speaker 5 (51:09):
Okay, These communities that black folks disproportionately live in are suffering.

Speaker 6 (51:14):
From legacy pollution.

Speaker 5 (51:16):
These polluters have been there since my Greek grandmama's were young, right, Like,
this isn't new, correct, Xai being in this place is
not new.

Speaker 6 (51:25):
It was Electroluxe before.

Speaker 5 (51:26):
Bolero is half a mile one way, New Core and
TVA are right across the street, right Like, it's not
accidental that this pollution is being placed into these areas
and that we are dealing with the ramifications of that
in our health and so yes, it is true. Before
the pandemic there was pollution that was hurting and that
was smelling. I remember going to Metro High School and
smelling again the sewage and the sulfur and the rotten

(51:49):
egg smell. Like I know, like it is not new.
What we have to say is we don't want any
more new pollution and we need to stop allowing the
older polluters to continue to pollute like the Tennessee Valley
of thorlready is seeking to do. That's why folks gotta
go to Memphis c ap dot org send in their
public comments say engaged and engage in this movement. Uh
to to my other friends and to your amazing callers

(52:09):
at vosinj dot com you'll get our People Power Times newsletter.
But stay engaged and in the fight because there's no
time for for for conjecture or for play or for
you know, ancillary things. It's like life and death is
what's happening right now. And anybody who's not putting their
hands to applow like let let let other folks do
the work, but don't get in the way.

Speaker 2 (52:30):
Okay, w D I a hi caller?

Speaker 12 (52:36):
Hi dam How are you today?

Speaker 2 (52:37):
Doing well? David? How are you?

Speaker 7 (52:40):
I'm doing well?

Speaker 8 (52:41):
Girl?

Speaker 7 (52:41):
I bet you glad?

Speaker 12 (52:42):
It's Friday?

Speaker 2 (52:43):
I bet you yes, I am Friday.

Speaker 7 (52:48):
Anyway, How you doing? Representative?

Speaker 6 (52:50):
Doing fine? Miss David? How you doing?

Speaker 12 (52:53):
I'm holding on man. I got a question first about
the school boy brother Hodaway. I saw him on Alix
to show on three on three, three on three, and
he stated, I thought that he was going to present
a bill that would allow us to recall those school
board members. Is that not part of the bill that

(53:14):
you were speaking of or is that a different bill?

Speaker 5 (53:17):
I believe that's a different bill, but I do remember
him bringing that. And again, you have Tom. This is
our first year in session. We got our next year,
so he still can bring.

Speaker 6 (53:24):
It for next year.

Speaker 12 (53:26):
Okay, great, because I think I think that that that
that needs to be done, because I think that I
can't remember the rap artist who was a great dancer
who said you can't touch this.

Speaker 8 (53:39):
But I kept.

Speaker 12 (53:42):
M my chef thinking about about that school board of
some of those members of that soause some of the
school board members were courageous and tried to do the
right thing. But any case, let me get down to
this at say, I representative, have you ever heard of
brother Green?

Speaker 6 (53:58):
I can't call it.

Speaker 12 (54:00):
Brother Green. Thirty thirty forty years ago, probably more close
to thirty thirty five was a black man in North
Message who first pointed it out. I don't know whether
the term was coined or not at that point, but
environmental racism over here in North Messige, I live about
ten minutes from a super fund type VELSA call is

(54:24):
over here. There's another manufacturer of something used to be
quake old. I don't know what it is now, but
some I haven't smelled it lately, but there's a smell
that goes on that we have a park right Besides that,
when it happens, you can't hardly breathe it's so bad.
So I say that to say this, I like you,

(54:48):
I like doctor Taylor. I'm saddened by what I'm seeing.
But I want to point out to these callers who
want to take size one way or the other, that
is interesting. What I'm watching is that once again we
got a brother sticking his neck out basically by himself.
He's making some mistakes that I can see, but the
mistakes that I want to talk to him about, it's

(55:09):
going to be off the app if I ever get
to talk to him, same mistakes. Brother Malcolm said that
he made tell how belief el Shabbath my name say
my namesake, and that's okay. It's on the podcast to
what I mentioned brother, So if you want to go
back to that health podcast, which is great. But the
point is this is that folks are talking about how, this, that,

(55:31):
and this. I'm not asking a question, Well, how is
it that brother Green was basically by himself fighting environmental
racism over here in North Mesis until he stopped and
went into real estate. And now we got another brother
thirty years later that's doing the same thing. And the
silence among most of our politicians is destined. Right, Why

(55:53):
is it that whereas the people always ask one brother
or sister, you know, Jasmin Crockett to stick neck out
and then once the neck is cut off, right, then
we go back business as usual, you know what I'm saying.
And and folks need to read up on doctor King,
one of my heroes, last year of his life, and

(56:15):
how he was ostracized from his own community of black people,
and what happened, how his family wasn't help and all
this kind of thing. At some point, we got to
change our strategy. The brother's right, he's right about about
the fight.

Speaker 7 (56:28):
I may not.

Speaker 12 (56:29):
Agree with his strategy, but he certainly is right about
the poisoning of our community, about environmental racism, and I
support him with that. And as doctor King one of
my heroes, as el hos Malik Elshi bass is one
of my heroes, You're one of my heroes. I just
don't agree with your strategy at this point. But I
love you. I'm gonna pray for you. I'm gonna pray

(56:51):
for doctor Taylor. I'm gonna pray for a man I
voted for, you know, Lee Harris. And I'm wondering I
say this, I say anything clothing. I'm wondering who really
knew who knew. Was there anybody any black people on
that on that city council who knew that these people
came here on the cloak of doctors, you know, and

(57:13):
and and allowed that and kept it quiet and then
just just just dropped it on us like this. No,
and that was a strategy of them to do it
exactly what we're doing. Bite each other rather than fighting
the person the people that are poising.

Speaker 8 (57:30):
But you have a good.

Speaker 2 (57:30):
Day, Thank you, David. Representative Justin J. Pearson.

Speaker 4 (57:35):
I'll let you have your saint before we get out
of here.

Speaker 6 (57:39):
Very good. Well, Thank you so much, David.

Speaker 5 (57:41):
And you got access to me nine one six th
two two five zero seven, send me a text, let
me know the things with strategy that you've got suggestions about,
because I'm happy to hear them. Here's what I will
say as it relates to the strategy now, is that
we have to organize, mobilize, and be activist. We have
been separated and segregated in our pursuit of justice, and

(58:05):
anything in anybody who thinks that I'm ever going to
choose the side of oppression is wrong. My strategy and
the strategy of my family has been and will continue
to be. We fight for the people who are oppressed.
We march for the people who are oppressed. We send
out emails and we write letters for the people who

(58:27):
are oppressed. And so anytime that billionaires or millionaires or
politicians or elected officials are angry or upset with me
or anything like that, I go to bed sometimes angry
at night, but knowing that I'm getting up for just
calls because I know that we are fighting for the
people who my faith tells me to fight for. So

(58:50):
if anybody's got a problem with me or the strategy
of our movement for justice rooted in love, you just
got a problem with the doctrine for which I and
you got to take that up with somebody more powerful
than me. Because our issues and how we fight and
who we are fighting for is in line with a
deep seated belief that you fight for the marginalized. You

(59:12):
fight for those who have been made poor, You fight
for those who are being attacked and those who have
been poisoned. You you fight for those who are ostracized
and push to the periphery of society, and you bring
them into the center of the conversation.

Speaker 6 (59:23):
That's what we have to do. That's why today at.

Speaker 5 (59:26):
Four point thirty, we're going to have a rally and
a press conference at Fairly High School. That's why at
five o'clock we're going to be at a public hearing
and making our voices heard using the system that the
Shelby County Health Department created. Right, that's the strategy is
to make sure we're in the public record with our
dissent against what is happening. And so if you don't
agree with the strategy, if you disagree.

Speaker 6 (59:46):
With with Rep.

Speaker 7 (59:48):
Justin J.

Speaker 5 (59:49):
Pearson, that's okay. What I need you to agree with
is that clean air is a human right. And because
it's a human right, I'm gonna go to the Shelby
County Health Department website. I'm going to make sure that
I I send in a public comment. I'm gonna go
to that Memphis Community Against Pollution website. I'm gonna make
sure I send in a public comment to the Health
Department about XAI, about TVA. We don't have to always

(01:00:10):
like each other or agree. I ain't gonna like all
of y'all' an like all of me. But you know what,
I love you. I love you and I want what
is best for you. I want you to have clean air.
I want you to have clean water. I want you
to have clean soil. That is who we are as
a people, is that we love our city, we love

(01:00:30):
our county, we love our community, and we fight for it.
And so this is the fight. And you know it
won't be one hundred percent of people, but at least
everybody who is listening can go to MEMPHISIAP dot org
and can send in public comments because regardless of me,
care about our air quality, care about our community. Because
at the end of the day, and as my god
Mama say and I do mean, at the very end

(01:00:52):
of the day, we end this together. We end this together,
and I'm gonna keep fighting.

Speaker 2 (01:00:57):
Keep fighting.

Speaker 4 (01:00:57):
Brother, Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, I appreciate your brother.

Speaker 2 (01:01:04):
You are I love you.

Speaker 4 (01:01:05):
Welcome anytime because folks need to hear who they voted for.

Speaker 2 (01:01:09):
Hey, thank you for coming. Thank you, Representative Justin J. Pearson.
Thank you have a fabulous weekend. Thank you so much.
I want to thank you callers.

Speaker 4 (01:01:24):
I want to thank you listeners for joining us all
this week on the BEV Johnson Show.

Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
We do, we really do appreciate you.

Speaker 4 (01:01:33):
So until tomorrow, please be safe, keep a cool head, y'all.
Don't let anyone steal your joy. Until tomorrow, I Bev
Johnson and y'all keep the faith Mark Baker take me Home, boyfriend.

Speaker 5 (01:01:53):
The views and opinions discussed on The Bev Johnson Show
are that of the hosts and callers and not those
of the staff and sponsors of w d I am