BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including no named faulty reasoning patterns yet, with no single egregious example has been isolated yet. Analysis detected 969 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,543 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 17.8% and a BS Rank of 5% (22,482 of 23,598 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 95.30% of the article peer group.
Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (from left), Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee stand with Tennessee state representative Justin J.
Pearson at a rally for Pearson’s congressional run at New Direction Christian Church on Friday.
Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America
A large political rally Friday night showcased State Rep.
Justin J.
Pearson’s rising national stardom and his deep base of support in Memphis.
The rally drew about 1,200 people to New Direction Christian Church in Hickory Hill.
Progressive Democrats from across the country turned out in force for Pearson, who they hope will beat back a last-minute attempt by state Republicans to flip the 9th Congressional District red by splitting it into thirds .
Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee took the stage to endorse Pearson.
“It seems very clear to me that the people turning back the clock on our rights are afraid of you,” Ocasio-Cortez told the cheering crowd.
“They’re afraid of this city’s legacy of fighting back, of (the) hunger for justice.
They believed that if they broke apart this city, they could break apart its political power.
They believed that if they changed the past, they could change the future.
But they were wrong.”
The lawmakers used the rally to highlight how the local issues that Pearson has tackled as an activist and legislator, like environmental pollution, resonate across the country.
Sarah Gladney during the Pearson rally at New Direction Christian Church on Friday.
Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America
Sarah Gladney, a Boxtown resident, spent most of the rally standing on the front row, gripping a Pearson campaign sign tightly with both hands.
Earlier, she’d joined Pearson, Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley and others on a “Toxic Tour” of Southwest Memphis, including driving by the Colossus 1 facility , the Valero Oil Refinery and other industrial sites in the area.
The congresswomen had a chance to talk with other Boxtown residents and hear how industrial pollutants have impacted their lives.
Gladney, like many other Southwest Memphis residents, is no longer able to vote for Pearson after the Republican-controlled legislature redrew Tennessee’s congressional maps.
But she said she knows he’ll keep fighting for the residents of Boxtown if he wins District 9.
“He’s not gonna give up on the people, period,” Gladney said.
PHOTOS : Democratic legislators visit Memphis for Justin J.
Pearson’s campaign rally
Rep.
Ayanna Pressley and Memphis resident Ra’Kelle Miller embrace each other during a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Boxtown resident, Easter Knox and Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speak with each other during a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Protect Our Aquifer Sarah Houston and Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speak with each other during a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
The Valero Oil Refinery is seen as Boxtown resident Sarah Gladney introduces herself during a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
A screen recording of the Valero Oil Refinery is seen during a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Rep.
Summer Lee and Rep.
Justin J.
Pearson speak with each other during a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Gas turbines are seen during a press conference in front of xAI’s data center after a toxic tour through Southwest Memphis.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
LJ Abraham speaks at the rally for Justin J.
Pearson’s congressional campaign l guests at the rally included Memphis activists and families of the four men who have been killed by the Memphis Safe Task Force, as well as Democratic Party legislators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee.
Photo by Andrea Morales/MLK50
Justin J.
Pearson’s campaign held a rally for the candidate at New Direction Christian Church on Friday, July 19.
Special guests at the rally included Memphis activists and families of the four men who have been killed by the Memphis Safe Task Force, as well as Democratic Party legislators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee.
Photo by Andrea Morales/MLK50
The crowd is seen during the ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
Hundreds of attendees filled the church for the rally.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
An attendee is seen during the ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Sen.
Charlene Oliver is seen speaking during the ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Memphis resident Linda Jones is seen reacting to a speaker during the ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America
Justin J.
Pearson’s campaign held a rally for the candidate at New Direction Christian Church.
Special guests at the rally included Memphis activists and families of the four men who have been killed by the Memphis Safe Task Force, as well as Democratic Party legislators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee.
Candidate Pearson’s parents react to a speaker during the ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
New York Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walks to the podium during the ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
Candidate Justin J.
Pearson is seen rejoicing during his ‘Get out the vote’ Rally at the New Direction Christian Church.
Photo by Kevin Wurm/MLK50/CatchLight Local/Report for America
During the rally, speakers described a divide between working-class people and billionaires, saying “it’s all hands on deck” to seek living wages, healthcare access and clean air and water.
“This is the moment in the movement for the working people,” Lee said.
“It’s the moment in the movement for the multiracial, multigenerational coalition.
It is the only way forward, and we must be relentless in building it, and we must be relentless in pouring into it … Victory is only through our solidarity.
Victory is only through our shared humanity and our shared liberation.”
Members of the Memphis activist community stand alongside family members of the four men who have been killed by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force at the Pearson rally.
Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America
One of the night’s most powerful moments came when Memphis organizer LJ Abraham was joined onstage by the families of three men who were killed by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force: Darrin Pigram , Jonah Neal and Tyrin Johnson .
As Abraham spoke on behalf of the families, advocates unfurled sheets saying “END THE OCCUPATION.”
“Today, we remember those victims of this occupation,” Abraham said.
“We honor their lives, and we honor the families who continue to carry the unimaginable burden of seeking answers, demanding accountability and refusing to let their loved ones be forgotten.”
She spoke of the death of Tyré Nichols and how “after that tragedy, many of us dedicated ourselves to fighting for real police reform in Memphis.”
“Memphis passed ordinances to limit pretextual traffic stops because we know those encounters too often led to unnecessary harm, particularly in Black and brown communities,” Abraham said.
“Those local reforms were later overridden by the Republican supermajority in Nashville.
That’s why we need leaders like Justin J.
Pearson in Washington.”
Pearson is facing M.
LaTroy A-Williams, State Sen.
London Lamar and Jim Torino in the Democratic Primary on August 6.
Early voting is already underway and will go until Aug.
1.
The winner of the primary will face a Republican opponent in the general election on Nov.
3.
Pearson had already entered the race and spent months campaigning when the district lines changed in May.
While Pearson had initially campaigned against incumbent Congressman Steve Cohen, Cohen decided not to run for the redrawn district.
As the rally concluded, Pearson urged voters to go to the ballot box “not against somebody, not against something, but go for something.”
“You know, they forgot something when they drew those maps,” Pearson said.
“They forgot that the Constitution doesn’t start with we, the politicians.
It doesn’t start with we, the billionaires.
It starts with the three most important words ever written in our founding documents.”
“We the people,” shouted the audience.
The crowd at the Pearson rally filled the sanctuary at New Direction Christian Church.
Photo by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America
Katherine Burgess is the government accountability reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism.
Contact her at katherine.burgess@mlk50.com
Republish this story
This story is brought to you by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism , a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis.
Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today.
MLK50 is also supported by these generous donors .
Got a story idea, a tip or feedback?
Send an email to info@mlk50.com.
Top Democrats stump for Pearson at Memphis rally is a post from MLK50: Justice Through Journalism , a nonprofit news outlet in Memphis focusing on the intersection of poverty, power and policy.
Speakers
7speakers26%attributed speech1,149writer words
Selected voice
100%flagged-word coverageAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez
55 attributed words14% of attributed speech14% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.