Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Commentary

    Concerns About Current Rise and Return of Neo-Confederacy in Tennessee State Government

    Article submittedBy Article submittedMay 9, 2019Updated:May 9, 2019No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Dr. Bobby Lovett
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    To State Leaders and Whom It May Concern: 

    As a citizen, taxpayer, and professional historian I am deeply concerned by the return and the rise of neo-Confederacy in the Tennessee state government (i.e., Executive and Legislative branches). 

    The Rebel-like-bearded chief staff member for the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives appears to be charged and documented by news media with conspiracy to electronically falsify documents with the intent to falsely arrest and imprison a young civil rights worker (in 21st century USA!). The young man and his colleagues were exercising their rights under the US and Tennessee constitutions. Yet, the Speaker and his chief of staff were televised as arrogantly refusing to entertain those citizens’ grievances and both men strutted away with displays of ignorance, distain and disregard for the constitutional rights and judicial recourse of all citizens. In the name of Conservatism, in disguise of Abraham Lincoln’s old Republican Party, and in arrogant and illiterate displays of racial hatred and deceit for the United States and the Republic of Tennessee, the bearded one is quoted even as calling an entire group of Tennessee citizens “idiots”—without fear of civil and criminal punishments. Lest they forget Tennessee (1796- ) yet remains the 16th state in the Union of these United States of America: 

    Federal Constitution, Amendments, “Bill of Rights (Dec. 15, 1791):

    Article I gives US citizens “the freedom of speech” and “the rights of the people peaceably to assembly, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” 

    Article XIV, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of his life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any persons within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

    Article XV, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

    Tennessee State Constitution: 

    Article I, Section 23: “People may assemble and instruct—That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by address or remonstrance.”

    Article I, Sec. 10. “Not to be twice put in jeopardy.—That no persons shall, for the same offense, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”

    Article I, Sec. 8. “No man to be disturbed but by law.—That no man shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land.”

    Article X, Sec. 2, members of the General Assembly “will not propose or assent to any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear . . . injurious to the people, or consent to any act or thing, whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the constitution of this state.” 

    Notwithstanding, 21st century neo-Confederate state leaders including Tennessee’s governor seem determined to conspire to resurrect “the Old South.” They have passed and signed acts “injurious to the People”: vouchers, scholarships, restrictive citizens police committee bills aimed a specific racial groups and counties; and impediments to the right-to- register citizens to vote, threats of imprisonment for Tennessee activists, and specific monetary punishment to a specific city and its duly democratically elected officials for removing the KKK leader Nathan B. Forrest’s statue from public property. State officials shamelessly targeted Shelby County and Davidson County with specific legislation wherein such counties have large African American and minority race populations. 

    The Governor, Speaker of the House and staff members should consider resigning their public jobs and face the federal and state justice systems.

    And the Tennessee Supreme Court and its associate courts (despite the purposeful judicial restraints the neo-Confederates placed in the 1870 Tennessee constitution) ought to invoke courageous interposition or intercession to protect Tennessee government; its society; its democratic traditions. 

    Whereas German psychology professor Karl Jasper wrote about post-WWII German society in his book The Question of German Guilt (1947, 2009)— all of us should be reminded that those of us who remain silent are “metaphysically guilty” of past and present evil acts and the historical consequences.

    Sincerely & Respectfully,

    B. L. Lovett, Ph.D.  

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Article submitted

    Related Posts

    Nashville General Hospital Offers Weekend-Only Urgent Care in Bordeaux

    October 22, 2024

    Commentary: “The Military Too!”

    January 28, 2023

    Opinion: Brett Favre is the New Head of the Welfare Fraud Monarchy

    October 3, 2022

    White Supremacists Want ‘Their’ Country Back

    July 20, 2022

    The Hypocrisy of Proposed Gun Legislation

    July 16, 2022

    Trump Fans Need to Keep Brittney Griner’s Name Out of Their Mouths 

    July 16, 2022

    Comments are closed.

    Business

    Target Boycotts and its Effect on Both Sides of the Black Dollar

    May 6, 2025

    FedEx to Launch FedEx Easy Returns at 3,000 Locations Across the US, Supported by Blue Yonder

    May 2, 2025

    Best Lawyers® Names Bailey, Hargrove, Haynes, and Stakely Lawyers of the Year

    April 24, 2025
    1 2 3 … 382 Next
    Education
    HBCU

    TSU Honors New Generation of Leaders at Spring Commencement Celebration

    By Emmanuel FreemanMay 8, 2025

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (TSU News Service)– In a celebration steeped in legacy and hope, Tennessee…

    Fisk University Honors the Class of 2025 with Baccalaureate and Commencement Ceremonies

    April 26, 2025

    TSU’s Spring Commencement Ceremonies to Feature Inspiring Keynote Speakers

    April 24, 2025

    TSU’s Dr. Robbie K. Melton Named a 2025 Leading Woman in AI

    April 24, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/