Tennessee Black Caucus elects new leadership
January 14, 2023; 12:31 p.m.

McKenzie of Knoxville elected new chairman

New Tennessee Black Caucus Leadership. Image submitted

NASHVILLE, TN -- The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators elected its leadership positions for the 113th General Assembly of the Tennessee Legislature on Tuesday. Representative Sam McKenzie of Knoxville was elected Chairman by a unanimous vote. He succeeds outgoing chair Antonio Parkinson of Memphis. Other positions elected were as follows:

• Caucus Vice-Chair—Representative Jesse Chism of Memphis

• Caucus Treasurer—Representative Vincent Dixie of Nashville

• Caucus Secretary—Representative Torrey Harris of Memphis

• Parliamentarian—Representative Yusuf Hakeem of Chattanooga

• Sergeant at Arms—Representative Ronnie Glynn of Clarksville

• Chaplin—Representative Johnny Shaw of Bolivar

Chairman McKenzie said that he’s “honored and humbled to be elected by this group to take the leadership of the Tennessee Black Caucus for this General Assembly. But I stand ready. We’ve got a great group of legislators in both the Senate and the House and we’re going to get things done for this year. We are one body. We’re going to speak with one voice and we’re going to work to improve the lives of Black Tennesseans and all other Tennesseans as well. I think that we’re going to be extremely successful.” The 113th General Assembly convened on Tuesday.