Memphis rallies for progressive Democrat after four fatal shootings by taskforce: 'Fight of our lives'
Source: The Guardian
ri 17 Jul 2026 22.18 EDT
Last modified on Fri 17 Jul 2026 22.19 EDT
More than a thousand people rallied for Justin Pearson, a Democratic state representative running for Congress, in the wake of four fatal shootings by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force over the last two months. Crowds packed New Direction Christian Church in the city’s Hickory Hill neighborhood in support of Pearson, who is running in the now-fractured ninth congressional district’s Democratic primary.
“Today we are in the fight of our lives to make this district, our state, and this nation better for ourselves and for those who will come after us,” Pearson said. “If God be for us, it doesn’t matter if every white supremacist in the Tennessee General Assembly is against us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God that’s found in Christ Jesus. No matter what they call us, no matter where they redline us, no matter how they try and lynch us, no matter what. Grandmama said, “‘If God be for us, it doesn’t matter who or what is against.’”
Progressive US representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania joined him. “Justin has shown up in the quiet moments for the neighbor in need,” Pressley said. “He shows up in the consequential moments when our rights are on the line. He shows up when the nation is watching Tennessee.”
Pearson is one of two legislators who were expelled from the Republican-controlled Tennessee general assembly in April 2023 after protesting the lack of gun control legislation following the Covenant school shooting in Nashville earlier that year. The Shelby county commission subsequently reappointed him to his seat.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/17/justin-pearson-memphis-rally-progressive-democrat-aoc