Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a fiery address Friday that highlighted the meaning of democracy as she defended the actions of the “Tennessee Three,” the Democratic lawmakers who faced expulsion from the GOP-controlled state House for participating in a protest against gun violence.
Harris’ speech at Nashville’s Fisk University followed votes in the state House on Thursday that ousted two Black state representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, for leading protesters in chants on the House floor. But the third Democrat, state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white and who also took part in the protests, held on to her seat by a single vote.
Harris said Friday that the state House’s act “wasn’t about the three” Democrats. “It’s about whose voices they were channeling. Understand that.”
“And is that not what a democracy allows? Democracy says, ‘You don’t silence the people. You do not stifle the people. You don’t turn off their microphones when they are speaking about the importance of life and liberty.’”
Watch a part of Harris’ speech below: