The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) held a conversation with Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson as part of Vanderbilt Law School’s Black History Month celebration, framed by the theme “From Pioneers to Progress: 70 Years of Black Legal Advancement in the Face of Resistance.” The discussion focused on modern leadership, advocacy, and civic change in shaping the future of justice in Tennessee. Representative Pearson reflected on his experience navigating a polarized government system, the evolving role of law and protest in advancing equity, and the responsibility Black legal professionals carry as future leaders.
A Memphis native, Pearson was elected in 2023 to represent District 86 in the Tennessee House of Representatives. His lobbying efforts began long before his election, from advocating for increased resources at his public high school to co-founding Memphis Community Against Pollution, an environmental advocacy group that helped lead opposition to a proposed crude oil pipeline through predominantly Black neighborhoods in south Memphis in 2021. He drew national attention in 2023 after joining fellow Democratic lawmakers in calling for gun reform following the Covenant School shooting in Nashville. That effort resulted in the Tennessee House’s expulsion of Pearson and Representative Justin Jones, after which they were overwhelmingly reelected by voters in special elections.
Honoring Vanderbilt Law Trailblazers
Pearson opened by recognizing the honorees of the 70th anniversary commemorating the integration of Vanderbilt Law School—Edwin Melvin Porter ’59, Frederick Taylor Work ’59, and Janie Greenwood Harris ’64—who were the school’s first Black students. Pearson pointed in particular to Porter, noting that he went on to become Oklahoma’s first Black state senator, serving from 1965 to 1987 and helping open political pathways for future leaders, including Pearson himself.
“These are the trailblazers who created not only a space for you all to be Vanderbilt Law students, but also a space for people like me to be,” Pearson remarked. “Mr. Porter became a state senator out in Oklahoma, the first Black state senator in that entire state. And I continue in that position, serving in the Tennessee State House and now even running for the United States Congress with Black elected leaders and officials who continue to push the boundaries of what it means to create more justice, create more opportunity, and can carry within them an obligation for a future that is better than the one we have inherited.”
In Defense of Democracy
Pearson coined his discussion “In Defense of Democracy.” He described the present political moment as a time of crisis. The national climate, he said, is one in which constitutional norms, judicial authority, and democratic guardrails are under strain. Preserving the constitutional democratic republic handed down by earlier generations will require deliberate and persistent civic engagement, he added.
“We are in a period where the Constitution is being ripped apart,” Pearson said. “The ideals and ideas of our nation are being torn asunder, and it is only going to be people of good conscience and goodwill who use their power, use their intellect, and use their resources in order to preserve it.”
He urged students to view this time as a “kairos moment”—an opportunity embedded within the constitutional instability to respond to what he described as unprecedented executive actions and violations of habeas corpus by the United States government and federal immigration authorities. Future attorneys, politicians, and judges who commit to public service will hold positions of authority capable of counteracting these actions, he argued.
“We are in a state of crisis, and it’s important that we recognize this, because I fear if we allow for the normalization of what we are seeing to occupy our lives and our minds and we somehow fall into the sweet pillow of apathy, we will miss the opportunity to stand up for what we believe in, to defend this democracy,” Pearson remarked. “We are up to the task.”
To achieve this, he encouraged students to focus their work in a “social location” alongside marginalized communities most affected by environmental injustice, housing inequality, disenfranchisement, and economic exclusion.
“It is so important that you, who are about to graduate from Vanderbilt Law School, continue to use your position of privilege to eradicate the boundaries and the barriers that our community faces,” he said. “To preserve this constitutional democracy, to protect it, you have to choose a social location with people who have been denied access and opportunity to the very systems that are supposed to serve them.”
Preserving Democracy Across Party Lines
Pearson emphasized the importance of collaborating across party lines to pass effective legislation, while refusing to compromise core values that protect citizens. “When you compromise on your values, what you’re consenting to is hurting people,” he said. Redistricting practices, such as gerrymandering, also weaken the accountability of political parties and diminish the incentives for elected officials to engage across ideological lines, he added.
“I think it’s bad for democracy, because if you can create districts where there is no diversity of thinking and diversity of ideas, what reason do I have to listen to people from another side? There’s no incentive,” he said. “Overall, I don’t think long term that it’s good for democracy. I think short-term, it is a necessary response and a proportional response to what’s going on.”
Pearson strongly encouraged students interested in public service to consider pursuing local office, where budgetary authority can have a more immediate impact. He pointed to the significant fiscal power and multi-billion-dollar budgets held by city councils and school boards compared to state legislative minorities.
“As we see a Supreme Court that too often is working as a tool of the executive branch and a Congress that’s abdicated its responsibilities, the only thing that can defend democracy are its people,” he said in closing. “That is why you must protest. You must speak up. You must fight back…You must carry the resilience of those who have come before us to make sure that this ideal does not perish.”
“If we continue to march forward, then 70 years from now, when different people sit in these seats, they will say that they were glad that there were some folk who continued to stand on the promises and the possibilities of democracy.”