During the redistricting special session in May, I made the courageous decision to stand on my Senate desk and sing with pride after the Speaker cut my mic while giving a floor speech. I held up a banner that read “No Jim Crow 2.0.” For that, GOP leadership refused to count my ‘NO’ vote. Then they came for my paycheck.
This is what happened next.
By late May, Lt. Gov. McNally had stripped me of my committee assignment, restricted my travel reimbursement, and eliminated my per diem — the pay every legislator relies on to do our jobs when we’re not in regular legislative session. The punishments were handed down because I refused to be silent and complicit while they rigged our maps to erase Black representation in Memphis.
On July 8th, constitutional lawyers from Georgetown Law's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection sent Lt. Governor Randy McNally a letter on my behalf.
The letter argues these punishments are unlawful on three separate grounds:
they violate the Tennessee Constitution, which reserves the power to discipline senators to the full Senate rather than the Speaker acting alone;
they violate the First Amendment because they retaliate against me for core, protected political speech; and
they violate the Equal Protection and Guarantee Clauses by denying the constituents of Senate District 19 equal representation in the General Assembly.
The letter requested that the legislative record be corrected to reflect my “no” vote on the redistricting bill — which the letter says was never counted — and that all punitive measures be rescinded.
They gave Lt. Gov. McNally a deadline of July 31st to respond. He didn’t.
When a legislative supermajority uses its power to silence a dissenting voice, erase a duly cast vote and punish a Senator for protesting that abuse of power, the damage reaches far beyond one person. The people of Senate District 19 lose representation when their elected Senator is denied a vote and prevented from fully participating in the work of the General Assembly.
The history behind this protest matters. Black Tennesseans fought, marched, were beaten, lynched, jailed and killed for the right to have their voices counted in our democracy. That history cannot be honored by remaining silent when those rights are undermined today. A legislative supermajority should never have the power to silence opposition and then punish the people who object by striping our ability to serve our constituents.
This letter isn't about me or a decorum dispute. It's about the constitutional right of a legislator to dissent and what happens to any dissenting member who insists on being heard. This is about accountability, free speech and the fundamental right of every Tennessean to have their voice represented.
They singled me out for punishment. The other members got a warning. I got the full weight of their retaliation, because they know I won’t back down quietly from their authoritarian actions. I’m exploring every avenue at my disposal for seeking legal redress — not just for me, but for every Tennessean whose representative gets punished for doing their job. Because when they silence me, they silence Senate District 19.
Tennessee is not a red state. We’re a gerrymandered state, and right now, we’re represented by one party led by authoritarian rule who won’t even answer for what they’ve done.
A letter sent July 8, 2026 by attorneys with the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, on behalf Sen. Charlane Oliver, requested Senate Speaker Randy McNally to rescind penalties against the Nashville senator.
I need your support now more than ever as I take on this challenge for Tennesseans. Stand with me by joining this movement.
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