Justin Jones
Appearances
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Well, first of all, I just want to say thank you all for being here from the Bulwark. Recognize the importance of the South, particularly in this moment. Thank you all for showing up.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
But as we know here in Nashville, we've had terror in our community. 196 of our neighbors were taken, mostly in the dark at night, by officers who never identified themselves in coordination with the Tennessee Highway Patrol in the predominantly immigrant part of our community, which is the district I represent from East Nashville to Antioch.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
District 52, the District of Resistance is what we call it. And we were told of five names. But what about the other 191? People who were like church members on Owensville Road, a volunteer man who was arrested on his birthday, an elder, a mother who was a cook in a kitchen, a man who had worked an overtime shift at Walmart, taken, stolen.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Over 100 of them were told that they had committed no crime ever. And yet we have these criminals named Kristi Noem and Andy Ogles, and Gino Busso, and Jack Johnson telling us that they are criminals because five people they said were committed a crime. If that was the case, then the Republican Party would be called a criminal party because we have Glenn Casta, charged with over a dozen felonies.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
We have Brian Kelsey convicted and charged of felonies. We have Scotty Campbell who resigned the vice chairman of the Republican caucus for committing sexual harassment. We have Jeremy Durham who resigned because dozens of cases of sexual harassment and now just charged with DUI. If they want to talk about criminality, they don't need a press conference. The Republicans in Tennessee need a mirror.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
That's what they need.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Yeah. First of all, Andy should be very familiar with the need for law and order because he was somebody who was being investigated by the FBI that coincidentally, it went away when Trump came to office. But he's very familiar with criminal behavior, someone who stole money from a children's charity and lied about his resume and committed campaign fraud. So he knows about criminality.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
But what we want to say is that I have a very different position because I think one thing that the expulsions taught me in 2023, those of you know, we were expelled from the Tennessee House for doing our job, for standing up to this Republican supermajority. And my advice to Mayor Freddie O'Connell would be that you face a crossroads. Either capitulate to authoritarianism or choose courage.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And I want to tell my brother, Freddie O'Connell, that cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it political? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And so when the mayor is saying, oh, you know, I don't want to do anything that they find unlawful, let us be clear that their actions are unlawful.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Violating the 14th Amendment is unlawful. Violating equal protection under law and due process is unlawful. What the ICE and our Tennessee Highway Patrol are doing to our immigrant neighbors is unlawful. And so I say to the mayor, do not back down. Do not apologize. Because when we got expelled, I'll tell you a secret.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Something that's not really a secret, but something that wasn't really publicized is that one of the heartbreaking things is when we stood in the well of the house after they cut off our microphone on the House floor after three nine-year-olds and three adults were killed at the Covenant School.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
We went to the House floor with a megaphone because we wanted to amplify the voices of those young people who were saying, do something, do something. And the sad part is it was members of our own caucus, our Democratic caucus leadership who said, you should apologize to the Republican leadership and say, you didn't know better, you were young. And I said, Cameron Sexton should apologize.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And you know, this title of being a representative is nice, the title of being a mayor is nice, but your purpose is better, and you must be willing to risk your title for your purpose. And that's my message to the mayor.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
First of all, I'm physically new to the South, but my lineage is from the South. And I just want to say the name of my grandmother, because I would not be who I am without my grandmother, Harriet. And my family fled the South during Jim Crow, moved to Chicago from Tennessee, and then moved to California.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so I say my ancestors call me back here, because even though Jim Crow is over, now we face Jim Crow's son named James Crow Esquire, which is more sophisticated and subtle, but it's just as dangerous as Jim Crow. And what I would say is that It's important. I've been traveling the country a lot. I was just in Buffalo speaking at the university for the graduation. I was just in Colorado.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so often I hear people say, oh, just let the South secede right off the South. And I always tell them, number one, as somebody who represents a very diverse district, I know that the majority of black people in this nation live in the South. I know that if you want to change this nation, you must change the South.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
If we study the abolition of slavery and reconstruction to the civil rights movement, this has been the front line of our democracy. And the reason why there is so much repression in the South is because they know that if we come together as black and white, indigenous, Latino, that we can build a new South.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And I always tell people, you hear that saying from George Wallace and all these southern governors, they say, the South's going to rise again, the South's going to rise again. I say, no, we reject that. And we say that the South's going to rise anew, a South that is multiracial, multi-faith, multi-generational, pro-justice, anti-poverty, pro-queer. That's the South that we can build. And so...
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so my message to the National Democrats as they look is come South, because if we can change the South, we can change this nation. This has been the blueprint. That's why they came up with a Southern strategy to try and divide and conquer us. But we've only been a Republican super majority since 2010 in Tennessee. This is still relatively new. We can go back. The pendulum can shift.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And let's tell one more truth is that Tennessee is not a red state, but it's a state that ranks 50 in voter turnout, where one in five black people cannot vote because of voter suppression, that has been gerrymandered to oblivion, and that's the only reason they keep power. They're not a powerful majority.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
They are a very fragile party that's cheated their way into power, and I think that's a truth that needs to be said.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
That's exactly it. And one of the greatest blessings that Cameron Sexton gave me was that after the expulsion, he decided to punish me and took me off Education Committee, took me off Government Operations Committee, and put me on Agriculture Committee. And the Agriculture Committee was supposed to be a punishment because I knew absolutely nothing about agriculture. I live in an urban district.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
But it's been the most powerful place to organize rural and urban coalitions that can transform this state. What we as Democrats have to do is that we have to go to territory that is not always comfortable, that is not always familiar to us. When I was put on this committee, one of the first places I went was to Columbia, Tennessee.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
The only member of our committee to stand with the folks in Columbia when they're trying to pollute the Duck River, the most biodiverse river in North America, and a river that they were trying to build a landfill on a former Monsanto site, met with cattle farmers. I remember walking in to homes of some cattle farmers on the Duck River where they had Fox News on.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Some folks had Confederate flags there. I said, let me get out of here before it gets dark, but I'm here now. But what I learned is that they had stereotypes about me, and I had stereotypes about them. And I went to that community as a member of the agriculture committee, and the members of the committee were terrified. They're like, you don't represent that district. Why are you going down there?
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
You're building a relationship. They took me in a gator across all these farms, introducing me to these cattle farmers, saying, you're the only one who showed up to fight for us. That's what we have to do. Just this year, we were able to defeat... This is some good news. This year, we were able to defeat one of the worst bills this session.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
It was a bill to give immunity to Bayer, who now owns Monsanto, when our farmers get cancer and Parkinson's and sick from their pesticides. And Rusty Grill tried to push this bill through. We worked with Republicans in those communities, farmers who said, we thought you were just this extremist. They told us that you just want to burn the Capitol down. We didn't know you.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And I said, this is how we can win, is by going and lifting up these ideas of what I call agrarian populism. That's how we're going to transform this state. And I have hope, because once I got back from these counties, every time I get back from Pulaski, Columbia, we had a rally down in Bradley County, one of the reddest counties.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
One of the Republicans tweeted, I didn't know there was this many Democrats in our county. You know, we have to go and play offense and show up. And I'll tell you the truth, it will terrify them once we get outside of Davidson County, once we get outside of Shelby County and go to their districts and say, did you know that Rusty Grills voted to poison farmers?
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Did you know that Clay Doggett voted to privatize our education and steal from our public schools? We have to go there and let them know that we're fighting for them. And the last thing I'll say is that when I was expelled, my message, they said, what is your message to your Republican colleagues? I had just been kicked out of my job in this unprecedented expulsion.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
I said, I want my Republican colleagues to know that I'm fighting for their children and grandchildren too. And each time we walk into that building, that's what makes us different from them, is that we're not, we are not this tribalist saying we want to destroy you, that we want you to be obliviated. We want your children to have quality public education.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
We want them to have clean water and access to healthcare. We want your children to be free from the terror of school shootings. We're fighting for your children and grandchildren too, and that's what makes us different than them.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
See, I have a different mindset. As soon as you walk into the Capitol, you'll see Minority Caucus. They call us the Minority Caucus. And I like what they say in England better. In England, they say we are the opposition party. Our role is to be a check on your power, to be a speed bump as you try and drive this train of our state over the cliff.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so, you know, Jack Johnson, I'll never forget, my first week in the legislature, he taught me a very important lesson. He's a horrible person, but even our enemies can teach us something. I was on the elevator. I think I had my white suit on. I was going to my first committee meeting. I was excited, a little nervous, and he was on the elevator.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And his welcome to me was saying, Jones, I want you to know that you're worthless and you're not supposed to be here. And that was his welcome to me, my first week in the legislature. But I actually appreciate Senator Johnson now, because at that point, I didn't know what to say. I went to the glorious office. I was like, you know, this just happened. I mean, overt racism, ageism, all the isms.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And I didn't know how to respond. But I actually appreciate him, because he taught me a very important lesson in that legislature, that I'm not there to make friends. I'm there to make change for my district.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And I'm willing to work with Republicans in the community, but I know that that party in there is a party that is drunk with power, and there is no way that we can work with people who are so arrogant, who have so much hubris, that even when their own Republicans vote against vouchers, they kick them out of their committees and kick them out of their office space.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
When their own Republicans speak out, they are punished. People like Todd Warner from Chapel Hill, who has been ostracized because he dares say that vouchers are going to destroy his rural school district. I mean, this is a party that is not willing to work with us, that sees us as subjects, that sees us as people.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Another thing in the legislature, you come in committee rooms, all the Republicans are sitting at the dais above us, and we're supposed to sit below them as this unspoken rule.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
I sit next to them because I want them to know that we are colleagues, that we are equals, and that we are not below them, that we got here the same way, we represent the same amount of people, and that we have an obligation to stand up for our constituents.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Article 2, Section 27 of the Tennessee Constitution says that every lawmaker has a right to dissent from and protest against legislation that is injurious to the people and to have their dissent marked in the Journal of the House.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so every time we speak up, every opportunity we have, I speak up for my district because I know that we may not win this vote, but I know that when history sees us at this moment, my children and grandchildren will know that we stood up for them. and that not all of us were insane in this time. And what I know, too, is that we're winning over some of their children.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
I'll just say names, I'm just honest. Senator Gartenhier stopped me. I was in the governor's office for Christmas. He said, can I take a picture with you? Because I tried to convince my son to not like you, but he supports you. So I want to show him that we know each other. And so we're winning their children. Why do you think they're banning books?
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Why do you think they're trying to restrict curriculum? Because we're winning their children. They know that their time is limited, that the clock is ticking, that people like Paul Sherrill, who says we need to bring back lynching, those days are over. That their time is running out, and so they have to cheat their way and voter suppress, but these are not powerful people.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Because if you're powerful, you will not have to shut off microphones when somebody disagrees with you.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
I think we judge our victories by the bad bills we stop. I think that is what we are now. There's 24 members of our caucus, 23 when Johnny Shaw forgets he's a Democrat. And so I think we have to be honest about where we are. And what we have to do is like what we're trying to do when I add committees, build coalitions with their people in their district. That's how...
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Advocates we wanted to shout out and uplift were able to defeat that horrible asinine bill that was going to stop undocumented kids from going to school. That was defeated this session. What a powerful victory. The Monsanto Cancer Act, whatever they want to call it, that was defeated this year. You know, there are bad bills stopping.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
We have to judge our victories, not just based off of what we pass. Because some of my colleagues do see that you win by based off of what you pass. And so they'll pass a bill that says, we're going to put a marker here, a historical marker, which is beautiful. But I want to see the material conditions change for my constituents.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so I'm not willing to silence myself in order to pass a symbolic resolution. And so I think we have to realize, too, that our victories can be judged based off of the coalitions we're building. How many people are we bringing with us? Who are the new people we're engaging in this process to come testify? So many people, I've traveled the state. I remember I was in Tullahoma. I think Ms.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Janice and I, she was with me. And this man came out of this restaurant, this meat and three, and he looked like he was from Duck Dynasty. And I said, oh Lord, he's like, he's like coming up to our table. I was like, oh Lord, just, he's going to say something. He said, keep up the good trouble. In Tullahoma.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
See, that's a victory.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
That's a victory. That's a victory. When we win over their people, when we play offense, when we let them know that we are building a coalition that can defeat this coalition of hate and fear and division by building a coalition based off of solidarity and showing up for each other, I think that's how we judge our victories.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And I think that the tide is going to shift because they're getting so arrogant with power that even their own voters, Republicans are saying, defecting and saying, this is getting too extreme for me. And I think this voucher bill is going to help us. I think what's happening at the federal level, 25% increase price on fertilizer because of these tariff wars.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
So many of our farmers had these grants with USAID that have been cut. Now they're struggling with their soybeans. Where are they going to send these? I mean, they're hurting too. And so I think this is the opportunity not to say we were right, we told you so, but to say, welcome. Welcome to this movement. You're always welcome here.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
I think my loyalty is to the movement. And so just this past election, some people who we recruited to run who won are my dear sister, Shondell Brooks, who lost her son in the Waffle House mass shooting, the first woman of color to represent her district, a powerful advocate for common sense gun laws. We were able to recruit. Even Democrats said someone like that could not win that district.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
I said, we have to change the face of who is in power, who are in these halls. And so she won. We had our dear sister, Gabby Salinas, the first Latina member of the Democratic caucus to be elected. So we're changing the face of the party. bringing in people who are closer to the pain should be more proximate to the power, and changing the tradition of what it means to be a lawmaker.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And so that's what we're doing. I think that is where my loyalty is, too, is because I want to see people who are not doing it just for a title, but who are doing it who have the heart and who are willing to risk something, because that's what is required of this time. It's not to do something that's comfortable. Our democracy requires disruption.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
People are disrupted, even with their mere presence, even with their mere story, to say that, hold on, we dissent. We offer an alternative narrative to your dominant narrative of fear and oppression. And I think that's what we have to do. And, you know, the other thing, too, is, you know, we've been able to raise money because we're not accepting these corporate PAC dollars.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
The majority of people spend their time calling all these corporate PACs on the Hill. They have these big fundraisers with people who are against the interests of our constituents. I've rejected all that and just taken money from teachers and nurses and workers and everyday people. And so that's who I answer to. And I think that's what people want to see, that they want to see us not...
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
you know, compromise our values, but to say that we stand 10 toes down for them and that we're going to be consistent. And even I've had Republicans say, we disagree with you, but we know that when you say you're going to do something, you're going to be consistent and that you're going to be honest. And I think people want to see more authenticity in our politic. They want courage.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
They want conviction. And they don't want this both sizes. And they don't want this, you know, we're facing a very dangerous time. And I think we won't be
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
for how bold we are in response, but we will be apologetic to future generations by how timid we are when our democracy is on fire, when the house is on fire, when things are collapsing all around us, we'll be apologetic for what we didn't do as opposed to what we did do. And so when I took a megaphone out of my pocket, was it in the quorum? Was it a violation of house rules? They say it was.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
But I knew that I was required in that time because those children were saying, please do something, hear us, see us. And so when they expelled us, I also want to just end by saying it was not about us. It was about the people who showed up, mostly young people, who showed up in the largest number since the Civil Rights Movement, demanding better of our government.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
Children and young people who can never unsee what they saw that day, who really transformed that place to a point where the Republicans ended session early because they were terrified of these young people. And they've now surrounded the Capitol in troopers. You have to have tickets to sit in the gallery. All these processes to keep the people at the people's house.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
And the reason they're doing that is because that year those young people were effective. They were powerful. And power only responds when it's threatened. And so they knew that was effective. They knew that they're on the losing side of history. They've lost a generation. And so now they're trying to hold on to power. And as we say in the South, a dying mule kicks the heart.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
It's this mule of white supremacist patriarchy and of terror. of plantation politics is dying, so they're trying to kick with everything they have to hold on to power, but we know that we're going to build a circle larger than they can even keep us out, and that we're gonna bring some of their folks in, and I really have hope in this season as I've traveled that something is happening right now.
The Bulwark Podcast
S2 Ep1054: Adam Serwer, Lauren Egan, and Justin Jones: The Attack on Knowledge
People are being awakened. There's a reckoning happening, and I'm hopeful for 2028. I'm hopeful for 2030. I know that Tennessee's gonna shock the nation. I know that together, when I see a room like this, I know that as we show up, continually build community, I know that we can transform Tennessee, and if we can transform Tennessee, we can transform this nation.