TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 5, 2021

Tennessee Rep. Justin Lafferty, R-Knoxville, is facing criticism for remarks he made on the House floor yesterday during debate on whether educators should be restricted when teaching about racism in America. According to New Channel 5, Lafferty said the 18th century policy designating a slave as three-fifths of a person was adopted for “the purpose of ending slavery.” Black Caucus Chair Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, called the comment "alarming," and insulting when other Republican members clapped for Lafferty. The Three-Fifths Compromise was adopted in 1787 during the nation’s Constitutional Convention. It classified an enslaved person as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and states’ representation in Congress.