We recently heard of the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who, before his turn to Trump, was seen as a man of conscience. During the foggy days of Trump’s ascension, Graham became emblematic of his party, which at first rejected the president, his racist dog-whistles, and his base immorality, but then the South Carolina senator shifted to “embrace mode” to maintain relevance and gain power. Tennessee politicians have similarly engaged in the same sort of dramatic shifts; the saddest case is certainly State Representative Mark White.
We remember when Mark White, like Lindsey Graham at the federal level, understood and championed the cause of Dreamers or DACA kids. DACA is “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” and offers some protections for undocumented kids brought here by their parents as minors. It was signed as Executive Action by President Obama and is popular with the American public, writ large.
White in 2017 and 2018 led the charge for DACA kids to receive in-state tuition to Tennessee colleges and universities. During and before those years, White was a committed conservative but was always willing to listen, and seemed concerned with doing the right thing. Now, such prudence and decency have all but disappeared as hallmarks of White’s political career.
In the last legislative calendar, White voted almost uniformly in favor of Trump’s state-level immigration legislation initiative. Worst of all, White voted in favor of a bill that would have allowed schools to deny undocumented children access to the classroom directly in contravention of the Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe. Fortunately, this bill did not pass, but it shows who White has become.
Additionally, in this most recent special session, White voted to directly undermine our federal representation. While it is true that White did not vote for the redistricting scheme, which sliced Memphis’ congressional district into pieces, he did vote to allow state law to change so redistricting could occur during this “off” census year. That vote is a clear example of a “Profile in Fecklessness” and a betrayal of our city.
Senator Graham’s death and the obituaries that have followed should serve as a reminder to White that history does not fondly remember those who abandon decency in favor of power and temporary relevance. Graham went from a respected elected official who would reach across the aisle in the hopes of compromise to a caricature; we would never refer to him as “Lightweight Lindsey,” but Trump certainly did.
White has tied himself to the likes of Senator Brent Taylor and a radical right agenda in Nashville that is bent on tearing Memphis and Memphians apart. That agenda has militarized our streets — with two lethal shootings within one week in Memphis this month — sent our immigrant neighbors into hiding, and removed what little voice our community has at the federal and state level. Where is the outrage seen in other places (Maine, Houston) where federal agents have killed people on American streets? Where is the leadership here in Memphis?
Our political representatives have subordinated our interests to their own individual political aspirations and divided our collective voice. On the left, we’re not doing much better. We’ve had an indictment for one politician, Tami Sawyer, and allegations of theft and the misuse of public funds for personal gain by at least one city council member.
We still have a chance to salvage our future. But first we need to move beyond the likes of White and others who have lost their inner decency.
Memphis — collectively and in all three of our new districts — must turn out for this next election in record numbers if we have any hope for a better future. We as a city need and deserve better.
Bryce W. Ashby is an attorney at Donati Law, PLLC. Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College.
