Justin Pearson Appealed to the ‘Radical Middle’ During Bid for Bowdoin College Student President

A video circulating the web appears to show that newly-appointed State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) ran on a platform of unity among Republicans and Democrats during a bid for Bowdoin Student Government President at his alma mater Bowdoin College just a handful of years ago.

“How can we represent all voices in a conversation?” asked Pearson in a campaign video. “I want to do this by partnering with organizations from the Bowdoin Democrats to the Bowdoin Republicans. I want to bring together different voices; dissenting voices. Voices that might be more liberal or more conservative, in order [so] that we can reach the point of sort of the ‘radical middle.'”

The video has sparked intense discussion online about Pearson’s seeming transformation from a normal college student to a fiery preacher with a newfound southern accent.

“Justin Pearson was a normal, middle class clean cut black college student in 2016 when he ran for BSG president. He spoke about bringing together liberals and conservatives, to meet in the “radical middle” and waxed lyrical about the importance of ‘hearing every voice,'” said commentator Aimee Terese, attaching the video.

“Amazing how Justin Pearson learned that crazy fake southern preacher accent just a few years after his Brooks Brothers prep school days at Bowdoin: he’s like the Hilaria Baldwin of Al Sharpton clones:” said another Twitter user, posting a video of one of Pearson’s sermons.

Side-by-side videos show a stark contrast between the two Pearsons:

According to one of Pearson’s professors, he was always interested in far-left politics, despite what he said on his student government campaign trail.

“He was always interested in issues of social justice… and how can you work to make the system bend toward justice. He wanted to see how to make the system work toward better outcomes,”  said Andrew Rudalevige, Bowdoin’s Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government, and a former professor of Pearson’s, according to a blog post by Bowdoin College.

Rudalevige also commented on current affairs in Tennessee, bashing Tennessee House Republicans.

“He now has a very loud bullhorn, thanks to the foolish behavior of the majority of the Tennessee legislators,” he said. “He has taken the high road, disparaging the process and talking about the ways democracy works and needs to get better,” Rudalevige said.

Rudalevige did not return a request for comment from The Tennessee Star.

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Justin Pearson” by Justin Pearson. Background image “Pearson at Bowdoin College” by Bowdoin College. 

 

 

 

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3 Thoughts to “Justin Pearson Appealed to the ‘Radical Middle’ During Bid for Bowdoin College Student President”

  1. Joe Blow

    Just another modern day carpetbagger. His only interest is self-promotion. Just like Justin Jones. The third member of the “Tennessee Three” just seems to be a very lost soul in search of relevance.

  2. Truthy McTruthFace

    college is just a training program for commies.

  3. William Bruce

    Here is Mr. Rubin on the Justin J Pearson Fraud:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zYOOPBhJk8

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