Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who avoided expulsion from the GOP-controlled House of Representatives by a single vote on Thursday, said later that night that she was spared because she is a white woman. Two of Johnson’s Democratic colleagues, who also happen to be Black—Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson—were ousted after the trio participated in a gun control protest at the legislative body’s podium last week. When asked by CNN Tonight host Alisyn Camerota why she believed her expulsion vote failed, Johnson replied, “I think it’s pretty clear: I’m a 60-year-old white woman. And they are two young Black men.” Johnson added that she felt other legislators had been “demeaning” to the pair, whom she praised as “brilliant, caring people who love their community and want to fight for it.”
