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Jerri Green doesn’t take a dime from special interests. She does have three: Bo, Vivian, and Wilder.

Her kids are the reason the Memphis City Councilwoman and Democratic nominee for governor is crossing the state, and in this episode she sits down with Gloria to explain why. From Memphis to the mountains, Jerri says Tennesseans are telling her the same thing: the American dream is slipping out of reach, and the state keeps falling behind its neighbors.

So what would she do about it? Jerri gets specific. She talks about putting money back in families’ pockets instead of handing out corporate tax breaks, raising wages, legalizing cannabis, and what she’d do on day one, from executive orders to fixing DCS, reforming prisons, and ending CoreCivic contracts.

Along the way, Gloria and Jerri trade stories about Marsha Blackburn (a plane, a jetway, and some bushes), and Jerri shares what happens when you show up in the deepest-red corners of the state: a park pavilion built for 20 people that filled with 125.

They close with a challenge to every listener: knock doors, phone bank, text your friends, and vote the whole ballot.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Gloria sits down with KeShaun Pearson, the Memphis organizer who helped lead the fight against the Byhalia crude oil pipeline alongside his brother, Rep. Justin J. Pearson. KeShaun explains how losing both of his grandmothers to cancer turned the numbers into something personal, and how knocking on doors in the rain with flyers printed at FedEx grew into a movement.

They dig into Elon Musk's xAI data centers and gas turbines in Southwest Memphis, what it does to people's trust in government when corporations get tax breaks while the community gets silence, the chaotic Memphis City Council meeting over a data center moratorium, and the "performance of civility" used against protesters. They close on the redrawn Tennessee congressional map, the Nov. 3 election, and KeShaun's practical case for hope: do something.

NOTE: On Tuesday., October 20, the council rejected the 12-month moratorium on a 6-6 tie (one member absent) and instead passed a set of data center regulations (Ordinance 18, per Action News 5) Also on Oct. 20, a federal judge (U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, per WREG) temporarily blocked the council from enforcing bans on six people, including KeShaun, for 14 days.

Keep up with the Pearsons:

• KeShaun Pearson - https://www.instagram.com/keshaunpearson/
• Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) https://www.instagram.com/memphiscap_org/
• Rep. Justin J. Pearson - TN House member (Memphis) and 2026 candidate for Congress in the redrawn District 9: https://www.instagram.com/justinjpearson

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Gloria sits down with Tequila Johnson, the founder leading The Equity Alliance, for a candid conversation about building independent Black political power in Tennessee.

They trace the organization's start after the 2016 election, how its model has evolved from voter registration into direct service, political education, and cultural events, and why Tequila calls it "egoless leadership."

They dig into the May 2026 special session that split Memphis's majority-Black congressional district, gerrymandering, political courage, and what it takes for candidates of color to run and survive in office.

Tequila closes with a blunt take on hope: "Hope is cheap."

What she wants from people is discipline, strategy, and power.