A tense special session of the Tennessee legislature ended this week with Republican lawmakers approving a new congressional map that redraws the state’s only majority-Black district, prompting protests from Democratic lawmakers and voting-rights advocates.
At the center of the protest was state Sen. Charlane Oliver, who disrupted proceedings throughout the week and, in the final moments before the vote, climbed onto her desk in the Senate chamber holding a banner reading “Jim Crow 2.0” and “Stop the TN Steal”.
Dressed in white, Oliver then began singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, often referred to as the Black National Anthem. [Read more…] about Tennessee lawmaker protests redrawing of majority-Black congressional district