Rep. Justin J. Pearson blows away our live audience with his bold case for reparations - and for making change through multiracial solidarity. He speaks on the racist connections of gun violence and environmental pollution; and what we need to do to fix things. Also on video!
SHOW NOTES
Guest: Rep. Justin J. Pearson
Rep. Pearson is one of the most exciting new progressive voices in America. He’s state representative for Tennessee's 86th district, which includes the city of Memphis. He made international news in 2023 as part of the "Tennessee Three" when he was expelled and then reinstated after leading protests over gun violence. He led a multiracial movement that took on billion-dollar corporations and saved Memphis’s drinking water by blocking a pipeline scheduled to run through the city’s Black community.
- The closing argument: Rep. Pearson’s case for reparations in 10 minutes
- Rep. Justin J. Pearson and the Tennessee Three: NPR piece
- Justin J. Pearson’s fight against the Memphis pipeline on Heather McGhee's podcast
- More on the “solidarity dividend”: Heather McGhee’s book The Sum of Us
- More on Justin J. Pearson’s time as an activist at Bowdoin College
- Rep. Pearson’s letter addressing the his colleague’s inaction on gun reform April 2023
HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE:
[17:24] What “environmental racism” is and how it hurts communities
[25:56] Importance of a multi-racial, intergenerational movement for justice
[29:52] Reparations for environmental racism
[39:02] Racist origins of the Second Amendment
[49:29] How gun violence and environmental racism are connected
[55:35] The case for reparations in 10 minutes
[1:11:06] Audience Q & A
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