During expulsion proceedings on Thursday, then-State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) was asked questions by members of the Tennessee House in help inform them of the circumstances leading up to and including the moment he and his fellow Democratic colleagues Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) commandeered the House Floor to demand gun control legislation be passed by the Republican super-majority.
In an exchange between State Rep. Sabi Kumar (R-Springfield) and Jones, Kumar confronted Jones about the racially charged rhetoric the far-left activist-turned-elected official used against him when he called the practicing surgeon “the brown face of white supremacy.”
The exchange begins as about the 6:26:30hr mark.
TRANSCRIPT
Kumar: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I feel very disappointed. I’ve been excited about democracy. I’ve been excited since I got elected to this House and this is terrible. And really, it’s just disappointment is what comes to mind. Representative Jones, you had a difficult time. You look at everything through the lens of race.
Those are your experiences and that’s perfectly understandable. But sincerely, after becoming elected, you should be celebrating. You really should be. You should join the House. Be become one of us. Make the transformation from being a person who, yes, we’ve known you demonstrating a lot, mobilizing the community, but make the transformation to be a representative.
A Representative who represents you. You claim that you have 78,000 people to represent you, but sir, you have not done that. You have mainly interrupted the proceedings. You have attacked fellow Representatives. You have attacked the chairman almost in all committees.
That is not representing your people. That is not going to bring credit to the people that you claim to represent. I’m an immigrant. Everybody knows I have been in this country for 53 years, and when it was 50 years, you recognized me for that. It was a celebration in my mind and for my family.
In those 53 years in America, I have never encountered a racial slur. I’m really not aware that any of that applies to me. I live a good life. Yet you on tape call me a brown face. Yes, sir. It’s on tape. It’s on tape. You can’t deny that. Wow. I said it’s on tape.
Okay. You called me that after the committee meeting. On that same day you walked up to me, you had no business coming up to me. You were sitting a row or two ahead of me. You shoved your finger in my face and said, Kumar, they will never accept you.
You said it twice and you were so intimidating that the Sergeant at Arms without my invitation came and intervened between us. Sir, that is very disappointing. You did that. I was there.
State Rep John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) raised a procedural issue that was eventually resolved, allowing Kumar and Jones to continue their exchange.
Kumar: Thank you Mr. Speaker. It is disappointing that you have insulted this body. You have insulted your police, you have insulted the House representing the state of Tennessee. You have insulted our Speaker. You have personally insulted me and part of that is on. Okay, sir. I implore you that.
Let us take it from here whether you are expelled or not. Please, come on. You are a talented young man. You have a lot to offer, but offer it in a way that people are accepting of your ideas. Join the society where you celebrate your achievements. I wish you all the best. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Sexton: Thank you. Representative Jones?
Jones: Thank you Mr. Speaker. There’s a lot to unpack there Rep. Kumar. I don’t even know where to start, to be honest. It’s sad what you just stated to me, and that’s what this is really about. He said, you see everything under the lens of race. When you join this body, you should just become one us. Just assimilate.
That’s very disappointing to hear my friend and what I told you was what you just exhibited as the only member of their caucus who is not of the Caucasian persuasion. I said that you put a brown face on white supremacy.
And continuing in response to Representative Kumar’s egregious statements, he stated that he has never heard a racial slur. I heard one in his body not too long ago when Representative Sherrell [R-Sparta] recommended that we should bring back lynching in this body. And so I’ll move on.
The recommendation representative was that if I just assimilated if I just conformed to be accepted by this body done to be accepted by this body. He said that to you chairman. Let’s like that me asserting the voice of my digital is what he’s referring to me. Ensuring the rules are followed in committee and raising points of order and points of parliamentary inquiry.
When the chairman acts against the rules, is what he is talking about me. Asserting the voice of the 78,000 people of District 52 to him is an attack on me in upholding my responsibility as a legislator. And so no, I did not come to this body expecting to be accepted.
This side of the aisle, and I came here to serve the people of District 52 and to do good work in the forced conversations that we have had, we have to have in this body. Because so many times I sit in these committees and the bill he’s talking about, we try to censor conversations.
He was talking about a bill where we were censoring conversations on race, censoring what kids can learn in school because it makes people uncomfortable to talk about black. And he expected me to be censored as a duly elected representative, to not talk about the history of racism in America.
When he made those egregious statements, the Government Operations Committee, he expected me to sit there and conform, accept things because that is the only reason that he’s been accepted by these members here.
But I don’t want acceptance from you. I want acceptance from the people of my district. I don’t want approval from you. I want approval from the people of my community because I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to make a change for my community.
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Image “Justin Jones” by Tennessee General Assembly.
When caught red-handed, play the race card. When wrong, play the race card. When there are those who oppose you, play the race card. Jones take no responsibility for his conduct, he is milking his 15 minutes of fame and trying to self define as a martyr. Jones, make no mistake, will soon be forgotten.
So at his hearing, Jones refused to take responsibility for his own actions and choices to blame others?
Sound like a typical progressive, doesn’t he?