Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones is set to take on a new role as a teacher at his alma mater Fisk University.
Last week the university announced that Rep. Jones will be teaching a course titled “Good Trouble” this school year.
“We’re gonna be talking about political activism, social change theories and movements, protest movements that have transformed this nation and look at the global movements happening today as we continue to push forward and fight for change in our communities,” Rep. Jones of the course.
Rep. Jones graduated from Fisk with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. While there, Jones received the John R. Lewis Scholarship for social activism and led several protests for causes such as the expansion of health care in Tennessee the repeal of voter ID laws, and Stand Your Ground laws.
The Tennessee State Representative has spoken about being inspired by civil rights icon and fellow Fisk alum, Congressman John Lewis. He told The Tennessean that Lewis has “been a guiding force in my life.”
During his run for state Legislature in 2022, Jones told The Tennessean that he decided to run “because this moment demands a new generation of leaders” who are fighting for their communities and “are not backing down to the extremist Republican supermajority that is harming our state.”
In 2022, Jones won the open Tennessee House District 52 seat and made headlines earlier this year when he and another Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Justin Pearson, were expelled following a gun control protest on the House floor.
Jones and Pearson were quickly reinstated to the House on an interim basis and fully reclaimed their position earlier this month through a special election.
