Tennessee was a crucial battleground in the early civil rights movement, influencing the late John Lewis’ fight against Jim Crow before he helped lead the march in Selma.
Why it matters: Decades later, Tennessee is again at the center of a civil rights fight. Organizers and lawmakers warn that Tennessee is becoming a “testing ground for voter suppression” and that policies there could spread across the country.
Driving the news: Three Black women — state Sen. Charlane Oliver, Stand Up Nashville’s Odessa Kelly and The Equity Alliance’s Tequila Johnson — are helping lead the fight in Tennessee. They spoke with Axios before the 60th anniversary of the Selma march, a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This year, there is a looming fear of a rollback on voting and civil rights. Civil rights leaders say the march should act as a renewed call to action.
Flashback: Before becoming a civil rights icon, Lewis trained in Nashville, where early sit-ins shaped his philosophy of nonviolent resistance.
- That foundation carried him through Selma and, ultimately, to Atlanta, where he spent decades fighting for voting rights in Congress.
“Tennessee is where John Lewis cut his teeth,” Oliver said. “And now we’re watching it become a testing ground for voter suppression.”
The big picture: Oliver says that since the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act, Tennessee has seen a surge in restrictive voting laws.
- Laws like Tennessee’s strict voter ID requirements, bans on college student IDs for voting, and polling place reductions in growing Black communities reflect a broader strategy to limit ballot access.
- The state ranks among the lowest in voter turnout and has some of the strictest disenfranchisement laws for formerly incarcerated individuals.
- Tennessee is the only state that requires child support payments before restoring voting rights. Oliver says she considers that a modern-day poll tax.
What they’re saying: Johnson sees history repeating. She says these modern measures reflect Black voters’ obstacles when trying to vote — counting bubbles in soap, guessing how many jellybeans are in a jar, or reciting the Constitution from memory.
State of play: The Trump administration’s work to unravel successful diversity efforts adds gasoline to the fire, Johnson says.
- “This moment feels both familiar and unfamiliar,” Oliver said. “The threats we face today are even more dire because of who is in the White House.”
- “When John Lewis marched in Selma, they could at least pressure the administration to act. Now, we have leaders trying to take us back — not just pre-Civil Rights Movement, but to an era where Jim Crow was law.”
Kelly shares that frustration.
- “I’m enraged,” she said. “My parents were born in the ’40s during Jim Crow, and to see the civil rights bill being torn apart bit by bit, it’s heartbreaking. We have to rethink how we build and protect the community.”
- “The policies that alarm people nationally? They were tested in Tennessee first,” Kelly said. “We’re seeing voter suppression laws, attacks on public education and corporate influence shaping policy in ways that harm marginalized communities.”
Zoom out: The Supreme Court’s weakening of voter protections makes it tougher to challenge suppression laws.
- “These laws aren’t just happening in a vacuum,” National Urban League president Marc Morial said. “Since Shelby, we’ve seen a flood of voter suppression bills designed to make it harder for people to vote.”
Zoom in: Morial says the John Lewis Voting Rights Act is “essential to restoring the protections we lost and ensuring every American has the right to vote without obstruction.”
The bottom line: Civil rights leaders say a new fight is beginning.
- “We are not backing down,” Morial said. “We will challenge these policies in the courts, at the ballot box, and in the streets.”
- “We can’t wait until laws pass to fight back. We must anticipate these attacks and organize now,” Johnson said.
Oliver agrees: “John Lewis showed us the way. Now it’s on us to keep marching.”