Justin Pearson, one of the ‘Tennessee 3,’ to speak at June event in Lincoln

LINCOLN — State Rep. Justin Pearson, one of three members of the Tennessee House who were expelled in 2023 before being reinstated, will keynote a June event in Lincoln.

Pearson, one of the so-called “Tennessee 3,” will be the featured speaker at Civic Nebraska’s “Strengthening Democracy Awards” gala on June 27.

The event, from 5-7 p.m., will be held at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

Pearson, of Memphis, was expelled from the Tennessee House along with two colleagues after they conducted a protest on the floor of the House for gun control legislation.

The protest followed a mass shooting that killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville. The shooter, armed with two rifles and a pistol, fired 150 rounds before being shot and killed by police.

Days later, local government panels in Memphis and Nashville reinstated the Tennessee 3, and voters in August re-elected Pearson to his seat.

Pearson co-founded a grassroots group that helped defeat a crude oil pipeline project that could have jeopardized Memphis’ drinking water and taken property from local residents.

He was chosen as the 2023 National Changemaker of the Year by the Sierra Club, and The Root website included him in a list of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans of 2023.

“His courage, passion, and enthusiasm are an inspiration to us all, and we’re eager to host him at this year’s Strengthening Democracy Awards,” said former State Sen. Adam Morfeld, Civic Nebraska’s executive director.

The event honors several Nebraskans for their civic activities and includes appetizers.

Tickets, which cost $50 for students and $75 for general admission, can be obtained at the website  https://www.civicnebraska.org/sda-2024.