A Tennessee state Democrat is calling for the City of Memphis to secede from Tennessee after the state passed a new congressional map.
The Tennessee General Assembly approved a new map that turns the state’s 9th Congressional District into a district where Republicans are now favored. Previously, the district had been the state’s only majority-black district and a Democratic stronghold.
With the new map, Memphis will be split into three districts rather than being in only the 9th Congressional District.
This means the new congressional map in Tennessee favors Republicans 9-0. State Representative Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) announced he will run for the state’s newly drawn 9th Congressional District. He picked up endorsements from both Tennessee senators.
State Representative Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), in a statement released on Thursday, said, “If Tennessee no longer respects Memphis’ right to self-determination, then Memphis must begin discussing its future.”
He added that “this is no longer about maps.”
“This is about whether Memphis — a majority-Black economic engine for this state — is expected to continue contributing billions in tax revenue, culture, labor, and commerce while being systematically stripped of political power,” he said.
“When a Black community gains enough political strength to elect representation, and the response is to divide that community into multiple districts, people understand exactly what is happening,” Parkinson (pictured above) said.
The state representative questioned whether Memphis should remain part of Tennessee, given the economic benefits the city brings and the ways Tennessee marginalizes its residents.
“Memphis is the top contributor to the state of Tennessee’s tax coffers. We subsidize almost 80% of the rural districts in Tennessee through the taxes generated from Memphis and Shelby County. You cannot demand Memphis contribute its culture, economy, tax base, labor, and talent to Tennessee while simultaneously denying its people the ability to choose its own representation,” Parkinson stated.
“If this legislature no longer believes the people of Memphis deserve the ability to choose a representative who reflects their community, then at least have the courage to say it plainly,” Parkinson said. “Do not hide behind maps and procedure. Let Memphis secede from the State of Tennessee. And I’m dead serious. Let my people go.”
This is not the first time Parkinson has called on Memphis to secede from Tennessee. In 2018, he called on the city to leave Tennessee after the state cut the city’s budget after removing two Confederate statues, according to Action News 5.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
