A new lawmaker from Memphis, Tennessee, is making waves after he attended his swearing-in ceremony wearing a dashiki.
Democratic Rep. Justin J. Pearson was sworn in on Feb. 9 in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Pearson was elected in a special election to fill the vacancy left by the late Barbara Cooper in House District 86. He told Action News 5 that wearing the traditional West African dress was intentional.
“Wearing this dashiki on the first day and being sworn in wearing it is paying homage to the ancestors who made this opportunity possible,” said Pearson.
Pearson wore a black dashiki with a glorious afro on the House floor, and during opening remarks, Rep. David Hawk (R-Greenville) implied that Pearson wasn’t dressed professionally and told a story about how the late Rep. Lois DeBerry (D-Memphis), the first Black woman to become Speaker Pro Tempore, reprimanded Hawk for not wearing a tie and coat inside the House Assembly.
“We honor Lois Deberry’s memory by how we look and how we treat each other and how we give the respect we hope to get back,” said Hawk. “I still, to this day, keep an extra tie in my drawer.”
Pearson shared a picture of himself wearing the dashiki on Twitter with a caption thanking the ancestors. He also mentioned Hawk’s remarks and called him a “white supremacist.”
“We literally just got on the State House floor and already a white supremacist has attacked my wearing of my Dashiki,” wrote Pearson. “Resistance and subversion to the status quo ought to make some people uncomfortable. Thank you to every Black Ancestor who made this opportunity possible!”
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