More than a thousand people packed New Direction Christian Church in Hickory Hill on Friday, July 17 as three Democratic members of Congress brought attention to a state congressional race reshaped by the redistricting that divided Memphis into three congressional districts.
U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania joined state Rep. Justin Pearson on stage, rallying support for his congressional bid. They framed the race as a test of Memphis’ political voice after redistricting split the city’s roughly 400,000 Black residents among three congressional districts, none of which has a Democratic majority.
Their visit came as early voting got underway and as Memphis grapples with an aggressive federal law enforcement presence and growing concern over its impact on the community.
State lawmakers redrew the congressional lines in May after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais weakened federal voting rights protections.
Pearson, 31, has built a national profile since he and fellow Democratic Rep. Justin Jones were expelled from the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly in April 2023 for joining a gun-control protest on the House floor following the Covenant School shooting in Nashville. The Shelby County Commission returned him to his seat within weeks.
He had planned to challenge longtime Memphis U.S Rep. Steve Cohen before redistricting scrambled the map. Cohen chose not to run again in the altered district.
The crowd inside the church reflected a range of backgrounds, perspectives and reasons for showing up. Some came specifically to support Pearson. Others came to hear the visiting members of Congress, support family members participating in the program or simply better understand a political landscape that has left many uncertain exactly which congressional district they now call home.
Barbara Beecher, a member and greeter at New Direction Christian Church, expressed that the new congressional map has left many voters trying to determine where they now fit.
“People are really confused. They sent a card to me and my husband telling us our district. I am very glad we weren’t redistricted,” Beecher said. She added that she rearranged her evening to be at the rally. “I missed my line dancing so I could be here because I want to know what’s going on. I am a greeter. I wanted to see my church packed. I am glad to be here to welcome people for this.”
Monroe Relford was in the audience to support his daughter, Tennessee Sen. Charlane Oliver, who was among the evening’s speakers. He also came with frustrations about what is happening in Washington.
“The Republicans have sold this country down the drain. They have done nothing for the common man,” Relford said. “I guess when they voted to pass that housing bill — that was something but then their own president didn’t sign it — but it became law anyway — so that’s just one thing. But let me ask this question. Why are we at war? Most people don’t even know. I know I don’t.”
Tiernee Nichole learned about the rally while at work and came straight from her job.
“My manager told me about this. So I came after work. I’m not sure what district I am in anymore. I am here to figure things out and just here to get more information and support Justin Pearson,” Nichole said.
Following remarks from local community organizers and calls for action, the national speakers took to the podium.
Lee, who represents a Pittsburgh-area district, told the crowd she’d toured the site of SpacesXAI’s Memphis data center before the rally and had spoken with residents about its effects on the surrounding community.
“It is my honor to be here joining you from Western Pennsylvania. When we got here, we took a tour. We saw Elon Musk’s new pet project,” Lee said. “I heard from young people with asthma, aunties who say enough is enough.”
She pressed the crowd on the tradeoff the project represents: “What is the purpose of having these corporations in our communities when our own community cannot breathe?”
Pressley invoked the history of Black economic survival while commenting on the recent surge in the cost of consumer goods.
“I landed in Memphis today thinking about our ancestors, sacrifices they made, the dreams they carried, the way they found a way to make a dollar out of 15 cents — just like we are doing right now when it comes to gas, groceries, housing, health care, elder care, education,” Pressley said.
She closed with an appeal to the audience: “I need you to move your feet to the polls so we can win this election.”
Ocasio-Cortez, making her first visit to Memphis, connected the moment to the city’s civil rights history and to the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.
“Something is happening in Memphis. This is the darkness, but this is what it takes to see the stars,” Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd.
“When I landed last night, I decided to pull up Dr. Martin Luther King’s last speech about the mountaintop. We are here to pick up where King left off 58 years ago,” she continued. “Fifty-eight years ago, King was assassinated here in Memphis. Fifty-eight years later, to the month, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. And 58 years later, what was the first place they went after to redraw the seat? Memphis. And that wasn’t an accident either.”
The rally also drew attention to a more immediate concern: four fatal shootings over the past two months by members of the Trump administration’s Memphis Safe Task Force, including the July 6 shooting of 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson, who had no criminal record.
Some family members of those killed joined Pearson on stage. He told the crowd the deaths were a foreseeable consequence of the federal deployment ordered by President Trump last year.
“Our worst fears have been realized,” Pearson said. “Let us remember these beloved families whose lives have been forever altered.”
In addition to the national representatives, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders also has endorsed Pearson as have 11 of his colleagues in the Tennessee House Democratic Caucus.
Pearson faces state M. LaTroy A-Williams, Sen. London Lamar and Jim Torino in the Democratic primary Aug. 6.
A total of 10 candidates are seeking to represent the newly redrawn 9th District, which now stretches from Shelby County through rural West and Middle Tennessee into Williamson County.
Four candidates — Charlotte Bergmann, state Sen. Brent Taylor, Jeremy Thompson, and state Rep. Todd Warner — are competing in the Republican primary Aug. 6. Independent candidates Dennis Clark and Michelle Davis Head will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Early voting for the primary began July 17.
Other candidates also have received notable local, state or national endorsements.
Lamar has been endorsed by Cohen, who represented the 9th District for nearly two decades.
Taylor, who entered the race within hours of Gov. Bill Lee signing the bill authorizing the new congressional map, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Taylor also has secured backing from Tennessee’s U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.
