Tennessee House of Representatives 86th district

The Tennessee House of Representatives 86th district in the United States is one of 99 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly. The district represents the western part of Shelby County, which includes Downtown Memphis, Beale Street, South Memphis, Benjestown, Northaven, and parts of the city of Millington. The district has been represented by Justin J. Pearson, since April 2023.

Tennessee's 86th State House of Representatives district
Map of Tennessee House districts, with the 86th District shaded in blue
Representative	Justin J. Pearson D–Memphis
Demographics	25% White 66% Black 4% Hispanic 2% Asian 4% Other
Population	67,863

Demographics

• 66% of the district is African American
• 25% of the district is White
• 4% of the district is Hispanic
• 2% of the district is Asian
• 4% of the district is two or more races

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years of Service	General Assembly	Residence
Harold Ford Sr.	Democratic	1971–1975	87th, 88th	Memphis
Emmit Ford		1975–1981	89th, 90th, 91st
Rufus E Jones		1981–1997	92nd, 93rd, 94th 95th, 96th, 97th, 98th, 99th
Barbara Cooper		1997–2022	100th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, 111th, 112th
Vacant (October 25, 2022 – February 9, 2023)
Justin J. Pearson	Democratic	February 9, 2023 – April 6, 2023	113th*	Memphis
Vacant (April 6–12, 2023)
Justin J. Pearson	Democratic	April 12, 2023–present	113th**	Memphis

*Justin J. Pearson was elected to serve as state representative on January 4, 2023, after Barbara Cooper died in October 2022.

**Pearson was re-appointed by the Shelby County Commission, after being expelled from the house alongside Representative Justin Jones.