In the end, the people of Tennessee made the ultimate choice of courage and hope. Thank you to the thousands who came to the People’s House today to show the nation that we will not yield to authoritarian attacks on our democracy. Honored to once again be representing the people of District 52. Our fight is not over. #NotOneStepBack ✊🏾
Navigating this new platform of politics can be a bit overwhelming, but enjoyed this thoughtful interview with @teenvogue on some of the key issues that matter to young people. Thank y’all!
Full article link in bio.
When you serve with many of the same lawmakers who have championed the most discriminatory legislation and convene for a committee that only meets once a month— it is important to lift up our joy, love, and resistance.
Happy Pride and Juneteenth, y’all! We represent a South that will RISE ANEW!! ✊🏾💛
Happy Pride y’all! 🙌🏾🌈
Such an amazing Pride March here in Nashville, where despite Republican efforts to ban drag, suppress Pride, and attack the LGBTQ+ community, the people showed up to showcase their joy and prove pride is still a protest.
Today was such a beautiful day of love and glamour, and seeing so many people on the streets is a reminder that our power is with each other. Our power is in our multiracial, multigenerational, multi faith movement for a South that will RISE ANEW!
Today we commemorate Juneteenth, but in Tennessee my Republican colleagues passed a bill banning schools from teaching students about the history of why.
The fight for true liberation continues and we must never yield to white supremacy.
HAPPY JUNETEENTH Y’ALL! ✊🏾🖤
Once again, they are placing the profits of the gun industry over the lives of our children and loved ones. This is not “freedom,” it is insanity. Shameful.
Kū Kiaʻi Mauna.
So grateful to finally connect with sister @hawanemusic , who has been leading in the fight to protect Mauna Kea as a culture bearer, singer/ songwriter and land protector. Mauna Kea stretches from the ocean floor towards the sky, and is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak, standing over 13,000 feet above sea level.
It is a deeply sacred place, rich in ecology, and so much gratitude to Hāwane for leading us in chants and protocol to enter the mountain in the right way with good intention, letting go of anything we needed to release before making our way up.
At the base of the mountain just a few years ago was the frontline where Native Hawaiian elders and activists, kiaʻi mauna (protectors/ caretakers of Mauna Kea), put their bodies on the line and were arrested to protect the mountain from repeated encroachment and desecration.
Due to its height and distance from light pollution private companies supported by governments and universities have continued to build telescopes on the mountain, including TMT which planned to construct what they deemed “the largest telescope in the Northern hemisphere” on Mauna Kea’s summit. This was the source of the latest mass protests in 2019 which involved a 9-month encampment to block construction and led to the Governor deploying National Guard troops and local police forces.
The battle is ongoing, including continued legal challenges and the hope that TMT, which has continued to lose money with delayed construction, will eventually pack up and leave the summit of Mauna Kea to be quiet once more.
Honored to connect with Hāwane and movement family to talk about the lasting implications of this work, healing practices, grounding in ancestors, and discussing the intersections of racial justice and indigenous sovereignty amidst systems of fragmentation.
Mahalo nui, sister. Feeling so much lighter and ready for the battles ahead. May all our lands know freedom, healing, and justice.
📸: @sophiakristina
Excited to celebrate with family from @hbo ’s “We’re Here” this weekend in New York and to join them for Season 4 after Tennessee became the first state to ban drag shows and Murfreesboro tried to cancel Pride. We also hosted an amazing community screening at the National Museum of African American Music the night before.
My Republican colleagues attempt to weaponize hate and division has once again failed and backfired. Instead, they have just shined an even brighter spotlight on our state and connected us deeper in community.
We are building a new South! ✊🏾🌈
Last night, after a 3 hour hearing, Republicans FAILED to kick me off the ballot. They tried to allege “forged signatures” on my nominating petition and argue against people’s notarized affidavits, a Republican tactic for intimidating voters and undermining our democracy.
This challenge follows a nationwide pattern of Republicans using false claims of “fraud” to sow distrust in our election systems and discredit the staff who run our election commissions. The Republican-appointed Secretary of State even sent his “Chief of Voter Suppression” to try and tip the scales, but people power was victorious.
This is yet another attempt at political harassment after failing to silence, censure, and intimidate me on the House floor, trying to get me to resign, kicking me off committees, and trying to expel our movement. My Republican colleagues are terrified of the multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-generational coalition we are building for the South to Rise ANEW, and they will stop at nothing to try and stop us.
But last night the people of District 52 showed up, refused to be silenced, and the truth prevailed! ✊🏾💛
Last year Tennessee became the first state to try and ban drag shows amidst a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
Just watched the new episode of @hbo ’s “We’re Here” and was honored to bring some of the most ICONIC drag queens to the House floor to reclaim the space.
Drag queens are not a threat to our kids, mass shootings are.
@jaidaehall@sashavelour@thequeenpriyanka thank you for bringing so much love, light, and glamor to our Capitol! ✊🏾🌈
