Governor’s remarks in Tennessee highlight resistance amid national debates on immigration and protest.
California Governor Gavin Newsom stirred conversation on Wednesday when he encouraged activists to emulate the strategies of influential social leaders, including civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, during an event hosted by East Nashtivists in Tennessee.
Newsom’s appearance in the key primary state of Tennessee follows his visit to South Carolina, signaling his continued engagement on the national political stage ahead of the 2028 Democratic Presidential primaries.
During his address, Governor Newsom highlighted the shared experience of incarceration among transformative leaders. “You think about some of the most transformative leaders in our life,” Newsom told attendees. “You think about some of the most iconic leaders, like Dr. King or Havel or Mandela, or people like, well, like Chavez himself, and at the peak of their influence, they had one thing in common, and that was jail time.”…