More than a thousand supporters rallied at New Direction Christian Church in Memphis’ Hickory Hill neighborhood on July 18, 2026, to support Justin Pearson, a Democratic state representative running in the fractured ninth congressional district’s Democratic primary. The rally followed four fatal shootings by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force in the past two months.

Pearson, who was expelled from the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly in April 2023 after protesting the lack of gun control legislation following the Covenant school shooting in Nashville, addressed the crowd: “Today we are in the fight of our lives to make this district, our state, and this nation better for ourselves and for those who will come after us.”

He added, “If God be for us, it doesn’t matter if every white supremacist in the Tennessee General Assembly is against us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God that’s found in Christ Jesus.” This sentiment was echoed by Grandmama, who said, “‘If God be for us, it doesn’t matter who or what is against.’”

Progressive Democrats Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley joined the rally. Ocasio-Cortez highlighted Pearson’s roots and activism: “Long before Justin ever stood on the floor of the Tennessee House fighting for dignity, he grew up in Southwest Memphis, the most polluted area of the city. He planned public meetings with neighbors, and against all odds, together with the people of this incredible city, they forced two – not one, but two – billion-dollar corporations to abandon their projects.”

Ocasio-Cortez also connected the movement to the civil rights legacy, stating, “When I think about where my first political consciousness was formed, it actually didn’t come from a book written by Marx. It came from watching what happened in Memphis, in Montgomery, and Selma and Atlanta.” She referenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ambitions before his assassination in Memphis and said the rapid Republican redistricting of Memphis was deliberate: “We are here to pick up where King left off 50 years ago.”

Another speaker, Lee, likened the redistricting to the Jim Crow South and said, “Memphis, I hope you know that you’re at the epicenter of a storm that’s brewing all over this country.”

The rally underscored growing tensions in Memphis politics amid public safety concerns and ongoing debates over gun control and district representation.

Sources