STAND TOGETHER TENNESSEE
Fifteen years of one-party Republican control in Tennessee has not served the people of this state. In those 15 years, grocery prices rose while they gave $1.6 billion in corporate tax breaks. Public school money went to vouchers your kids can't use. Elon Musk got free land to build an underground tunnel while traffic congestion got worse. Data centers moved into our communities without consent. Gun manufacturers got shielded from lawsuits while children were massacred in schools. ICE raids terrorized neighborhoods. Energy bills climbed.
Why hasn't our quality of life changed for the better? Because the legislators who vote for all of it keep getting re-elected, and they keep getting re-elected because the district maps are drawn to make them impossible to beat.
Every harm Tennessee families are living with — rising groceries, unaffordable rent, underfunded schools, congested roads, crumbling infrastructure, polluted water and air, terrorized neighbors — has a corporate donor behind it.
The rigged maps are not an accident. Redistricting is how corporate-backed legislators protect themselves from the voters who would replace them.
STAND TOGETHER is how we change that.
We name the donors. We pass the legislation. We build the power. And we vote.
An initiative by Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver, STAND TOGETHER is the organized, affirmative response to Tennessee's recent redistricting and subsequent punishment of Senator Oliver's desk protest. Stand Together is a people-powered campaign that names the corporations funding every harm Tennessee families are living with, builds the infrastructure to hold corporate power accountable, and declares what we actually deserve.
How We Got Here
The Special Session
Photo by JR2 Photography
Immediately following the Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Governor Bill Lee, at the direction of President Trump, convened the first mid-decade redistricting special session in Tennessee history — with no census, no court order, and no legitimate legal trigger.
On May 5, 2026, the Extraordinary Special Session began. By Day 2, the rigged maps were passed through committees without any meaningful debate.
In three days, Tennessee Republicans cracked Memphis - the only majority-Black congressional district in the state - into three congressional districts to silence Black voters.
The Desk Protest
Photo by Martin B. Cherry for the Nashville Banner
On the third and final day of the special session, evey Democratic legislator spoke in opposition to the rigged maps. Senate Caucus leaders entrusted Senator Oliver to give the closing arguments against the legislation. Her floor speech lasted approximately 20 minutes.
In her speech on the floor, Senator Oliver denounced the gerrymandered map as an affront to “descendants of people who were beaten on bridges, jailed in courthouses, murdered in churches, not for committing crimes, but for trying to vote.”
Before Senator Oliver could finish her speech, Lieutenant Governor McNally cut it short, and Chief Clerk Humphrey turned off Senator Oliver’s microphone as she attempted to finish her remarks. Senator Oliver’s banner was ripped from her hands, and she was prevented from casting a vote for her constituents.
Refusing to be silenced, Senator Oliver took the drastic step to stand on her desk on the Senate floor - in protest - as the vote was taking place. She unfurled a banner that read "NO JIM CROW 2.0. Stop the TN Steal" and sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black National Anthem.
Senator Oliver’s banner was ripped from her hands, and she was prevented from casting a vote for her constituents.
Her courageous act of ‘good trouble’ will etch her name in history books as proof that someone in that chamber refused to be complicit.
The Retribution
On May 27, 2026 — three weeks after the protest — Lt. Governor Randy McNally sent Senator Oliver a formal letter of punishment. By stripping her legislative pay and committee assignments for the remainder of the year, Oliver was singled out, receiving the harshest punishment of any of her Democratic colleagues.
THREE ACTS OF RETALIATION:
① Removed from the Senate Government Operations Committee — the only Senate committee that meets and generates income year-round outside of session.
② Banned from national legislative conference reimbursements — travel she requires to represent Tennessee at critical policy convenings.
③ Per diem restricted to session days only — eliminating expense reimbursement for office work, town halls, and constituent outreach that define her work outside of session.
These punishments are a calculated financial attack designed to make resistance too expensive to sustain. The message to every legislator watching is unmistakable: stand up for your constituents and we will strip your ability to serve them.
That is not a decorum dispute. That is an assault on free speech, democratic representation, and the constitutional right of a legislator to dissent.
Now, Republicans - with all their unchecked power - are threatening to come for hear seat next. Outspoken lawmakers like Senator Oliver are a threat inside the building to hold them accountable.
We must Stand Together.
Upcoming Stand Together Events
-
Women Stand Together - Official Kickoff
Tuesday, August 18 | 6:00-8:00PM CT
Calling all women to stand together with Senator Charlane Oliver as we officially launch the Stand Together campaign. Attendees will hear from the top women voices for democracy, get the first sneak peak of the official Merch Store, and learn future ways to stand together
Recommended“Their attention to detail and commitment to quality truly stood out. We’ve already recommended them to others.”
– Former Customer
Get In Touch
If you're interested in working with us, complete the form with a few details about your project. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.