By Anne-Marie Zanzal, M.Div.

In the Christian religious tradition, this is Easter weekend. If you are unfamiliar, Easter is the holiday that recognizes when Jesus Christ was put to death by the religious elite who were the power holders in his community. With great chagrin, sadness, and righteousness I want to report that a very similar event happened at the Tennessee State House on Thursday, April 6,  2023.  

Travesty of Justice in Tennesee Legislature

This week, I sat in the gallery of the Tennessee State House to bear witness to the travesty of justice that was occurring in my adopted state. The Tennessee legislature expelled the Tennessee Three:  Justin Jones of  Nashville, Justin Pearson of Memphis, and Gloria Johnson of Knoxville.  Gloria did not get expelled, saved by her whiteness, which she readily admits.  

What did they do that was so egregious? They joined in a protest with spectators last week when people were outraged and grief-stricken over the murder of six people from the Covenant School in Nashville. The protesters wanted gun reform, but more importantly, they just wanted their babies to be safe. Tell me – why are our schools not safe for our most precious beings? Please tell me why? 

Expelled the Tennesee Three for Standing Against Gun Violence in Tennesee

Tennessee is a gun-laden state, where the rights of gun owners (typically white males) are over the rights of every other single being in the state. Apparently, the legislature is owned by the NRA.  As a survivor of the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school (I worked in Sandy Hook and served a nursing home and the surrounding community as a hospice chaplain.  My sister-in-law was a teacher’s aide in the school. Her children attended there when they were younger. Several of my colleagues and patients had deep ties with the school as well.)  I have been down this road before and the Covenant School shooting honestly shut me down because I just couldn’t bear to see this horrible pain, this intense grief, an unnecessary trauma spread across another community that I call home.  

The Gallery Experience & to Bear Witness

My wife Tonda and I arrived at the capital at 8:30 AM in the morning.  We had debated back and forth on whether to go for the last couple of days and made a last-minute decision that we should be there. The rotunda was already filled with chanting energized teenagers who subsequently used their voices the entire day to express their outrage at what was occurring inside the “sacred” general assembly hall. I am using quotation marks for sacred because I heard the white Republican lawmakers call it that multiple times yesterday.  

Quiet Observation to Avoid Being Banished from the Gallery

We found seats in the gallery but soon realized why there were empty ones.  We were told that we needed to remain quiet the entire time. Why?  Because the previous week when the protesters were joined by the two Justins and Gloria the gallery was cleared. This included the press so there were no witnesses to what happened to them after the cameras were turned off. The gallery quickly filled with witnesses who were also forced to be voiceless by this legislature. We shushed each other all day long, no one wanting the responsibility for any type of banishment.  We used the applause of American Sign Language (hands shaking in the air) or raised a fist in the air to signify our agreement or support of a statement or a thumbs down for displeasure.  

Gallery Viewers Expulsion Of Tennessee Three – Tonda McKay Photography

GALLERY VIEWERS PROTEST EXPULSION OF TN 3 – Tonda McKay Photography

Distract, Distract, Distract — Avoiding the Real Issue of Gun Violence & The Impact it Has on Our Community

At the end of the legislative period (where some super unnecessary laws were passed) they moved onto old business which included a kangaroo court of the three. All of us knew that the general assembly was using this as a distraction from the real issue at hand which is gun control—a page from the playbook of any propagandist. Basically the Joseph Goebbels playbook. 

Distract, distract, distract so they forget about the real problem which is the proliferation of gun violence in our society supported by the very people who were supposed to protect us and OUR CHILDREN. This gun violence even finds the white privileged children of the Sanhedrin or religious elite.

How do you reconcile this with your faith Pharisee?  Persecute those who are perceived to be the most distraction to the state, who are community organizers and want to bring about change:  “Hey – do we have any “lesser” people to get rid of?”  Maybe a brown-skinned man or a woman? Maybe one of the agitators from this conquered territory?  Sound familiar yet?

Racism, Privilege & Gun Violence Go Hand in Hand

There was no pretense of fairness, the super majority of white Republicans just wanted to get this done.  There is a Republican Indian doctor from Springfield, TN that actually told Justin Jones that he should just assimilate and become “one of us.” He also stated that in his fifty years in the United States, he had never heard a racial slur. Dr. Kumar is blithely unaware of his privilege as a wealthy doctor.  Wealth can shield us up to a point from racism. Saying this with love Dr. Kumar, much like Justin said once to you, “They are never going to fully accept you.”  Words of wisdom from a man half your age.  

The Banality of Evil: When Ordinary People Commit Atrocities without Awareness, Care, or Choice

Over the course of the afternoon, my wife and I became eyewitnesses to the banality of evil: when ordinary people commit atrocities without awareness, care, or choice.  The Republicans introduced a video in a public forum without the defense having an opportunity to review it.  When Gloria asked to review this video prior to this meeting she was simply told “no.”  With no explanation.  The democratic party was surprised by this video and seemed to be unaware of its existence. 

When asked to view it in private they were told “no” and said they would understand when it was shown. Soon after it was revealed that the person who took the video was a member of the assembly, which is a clear serious violation of the house rules.  A motion was made to send all of this to the House ethic committee (the video and TN three), which would make a lot of sense. It should have been done with the minor infraction of the rules by the three, instead of immediate expulsion. For a tiny second, we had a sliver of hope and the resolution was denied falling directly across the super-majority party lines.

Justin Shared in a Calm, Bold Manner About His Experiences of Casual Racism in the General Assembly

Then Justin got up to speak, to defend himself and his actions. What the Republican majority were blithely unaware of is that Justin is anointed.  And by doing what they did they have anointed him further.  (Thank you!) Dressed in a white suit, eloquent, with the sonorous tones of a preacher. (He is a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School.) His manner was calm and oddly comforting, but as a mama, I could see his nervousness when he took intermittent sips of his water glass.  He is just about my kid’s age and I could feel his energetic youthfulness. 

The Speaker of the House, scrolling on his phone while Justin Jones addresses the room.

The Tennessee Legislature Gives an Apathetic Response to the Reality of Racism

I looked out at the legislature as he spoke and saw apathy.  The speaker of the house was scrolling on his phone, several members were talking and laughing amongst themselves, one had his chair tilted back, eyes closed, taking a nap while a young man was fighting for his current career. When Justin brought up the casual racism he experienced every day in the general assembly, they stood up and turned their backs on him, talking amongst themselves in a jovial manner.

Observe: the Republican apathy.

Expelled for Standing Against Gun Violence and for Their Race

Although rendered physically speechless already by the rules of this legislature, I became spiritually speechless knowing the inevitable was a forgone conclusion.  The United Methodist pastor next to me shook her weary head and bowed her head in prayer, I placed my hand on her shoulder and joined her. “’Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they’re doing.” Except they did. They knew exactly what they were doing and they just didn’t care about these two young men and their female colleague.  They were expendable to their distraction from the real issue of gun violence and cis-male white supremacy. 

Outrage, and the gallery reacts.

In the 3:00 hour, Justin Jones was expelled from the General Assembly of Tennessee, otherwise known as the least democratic state in the United States. With no energy left, my wife and I left. We passed through a gauntlet of state police, holding back the young protesters who continued to chant. By 8:00 in the evening, Justin Pearson was expelled also, and white representative Gloria Johnson was saved by one vote, she was stripped of her committee appointments.  How exhausted must they be? How utterly drained from such an unnecessary experience?  

Teenagers chant in protest

We Left with Broken Hearts

I returned home and looked at the Instagram accounts of both Justins, trying to glimpse a piece of who these young men were, outside the role they were assigned by this assembly. On Jones’ page, I saw a smiling handsome young man sitting on his desk in the legislature proudly, his nameplate off to the left. How happy his family and community must have been for him!  I noticed that when he walked out he was holding that nameplate. This breaks my heart. 

What Happened Yesterday with the Tennesee Legislature Was NOT Sacred

In the Christian calendar, this is Easter week, the most sacred time of the calendar. What happened in the Tennessee legislature yesterday was not sacred and it is not a sacred body by any stretch of the imagination.  Yet what happened is deeply reminiscent of the ethos of this week. I came face to face with darkness yesterday, which includes the temporary silencing of young leaders, of the people, mockery of rules of order, banality, propaganda, and apathy. I came face to face with the relishment and abuse of power. I know if I or anyone I love got in their way they would destroy us if it suits their needs.  

Is This a Sunrise or a Sunset?

Like many of the stories that involved brown-skinned men, there was no justice, including the big J. Easter is the symbol of resurrection and rebirth.  Have you ever noticed that if we take the direction away it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a sunrise or a sunset? So where are we right now? It might feel like a sunset, but maybe we are in the beginning of sunrise and rebirth.  I really don’t know, but I cling to the sliver of hope and the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”  

Rev. Anne-Marie Zanzal (author) with Representative Justin Pearson

Anne-Marie Zanzal, M. Div. is a minister in the United Chruch of Christ and a practicing Buddhist. She works with people coming out later in life in the LGBTQIA+ community. You can find her work and podcast at annemariezanzal.com.