I thought of my great-grandmother, sent as a young girl to her small town polling site to pass out yellow roses in support of women's suffrage. Two decades later, Tennessee became the decisive state to ratify the 19th Amendment.
I thought of the Nashville Sit-Ins and the Freedom Riders, of how Fisk University and Tennessee State University produced Civil Rights icons like John Lewis, and how Monteagle's Highlander Folk School shaped Rosa Parks and Septima Clark.
And I thought about Davy Crockett, who rode the coattails of Andrew Jackson before breaking from him entirely. When Jackson initiated the Indian Removal Act, Crockett refused to go along and was ousted from Congress for it.
I am at liberty to vote as my conscience and judgment dictates to be right. — Davy Crockett
I’m running for governor to bring practical, principled leadership back to the highest office in our state – to protect our children, respect our taxpayers, and build a Tennessee where everyone has a fair chance to thrive.
It is that spirit, the spirit of frontiersmen, suffragettes, and activists, that I believe still guides us as Tennesseans. We are solid, courageous people, unwavering in our commitment to our neighbors regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status.
As a person of faith, it would be disobedient and disingenuous to watch another election cycle go by asking the same question we asked 10 years ago: "Is this really the best our government can offer?" We all deserve the chance to vote for someone rather than against someone, and my hope is that when you meet me, you feel genuine relief that you can be represented at the highest level in Tennessee.
As Ida B. Wells, whose journalism career began in Memphis, once wrote:
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them. — Ida B. Wells
Her work embodied Tennessee's greatest strength: the willingness to speak truth, even when it burns. I welcome you to this campaign. Together, we will extinguish extremism as we illuminate the path back to the best version of ourselves.
