Many were shocked when the Republican-controlled Tennessee House of Representatives voted Thursday to expel Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, both of whom are Black, while not voting to oust their white colleague. But the incident should not have been surprising, according to a Politico reporter who previously covered Tennessee state politics. Natalie Allison wrote Saturday that there was a pattern of casual racism in Tennessee’s Republican-held legislature. For example, a former GOP legislative staffer told her that an unnamed member of House Republican leadership called Jones and another Black lawmaker “baboons” in 2020. In another incident, Cade Cothren, then-chief of staff to then-House Speaker Glen Casada, wrote in a message that “Black people are idiots.” Additionally, Allison wrote, a House member used the term “wetback” during a discussion on sanctuary cities, and Republican legislators made jokes about Black people eating fried chicken on several occasions as recently as 2020.
