State Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, presents a bill to vacate the entire Tennessee State University board of trustees during a House session Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. – Tennessee’s Republican-dominant House on Wednesday spiked legislation that would have banned local governments from paying to either study or dispense money for reparations for slavery.
As the TSU fallout increased, House members appeared hesitant to hold a potentially explosive debate over reparations. The bill was briefly debated on the House floor last week but support remained unclear. Ultimately, House leaders waited until the final week of session to return to the measure. But as Republican Rep. John Ragan, the bill's sponsor, approached the front of the House to begin his opening remarks, another Republican requested that the body “table” his proposal — a move that would effectively kill it for the year.
Ahead of the vote, Ragan maintained his bill was needed, arguing that reparations advocates want to “take money from our grandchildren's pockets as a judgement for someone else's great-great-grandfather's actions."