Tuesday Night Smackdown: Sean Parker Called a Racist on the Council Floor.

CM Tasha Ellis

 From Megan Podsiedlik, The Pampheteer, Aug. 20, 2025 - Last night’s council meeting was overshadowed by growing tensions during rezoning discussions, which somehow turned into a row between Councilmember Tasha Ellis and Sean Parker. Three-quarters of the way through the meeting, what started as a misguided inquiry by Ellis about how Tennessee Sunshine Laws apply to text communications between council members quickly disintegrated into chaos.

The Drama

The disruption of procedure initially began while Councilmember Parker was speaking in favor of Councilmember Rollin Hortin’s proposed legislation to upzone the 330 acres of his West Nashville district that makeup the Nations neighborhood. Ellis continued to interject as Councilmember Jennifer Gamble was expressing her thoughts on the proposal.

While Ellis is known for speaking her mind, it’s also evident that decorum has never been her strong suit. As a new council member, her failure to observe some of the rules could be dismissed as part of the learning process. But two years into the job, it seems more likely that Ellis recognized what she was doing during last night’s meeting.

CM Sean Parker

According to the Banner, off camera drama led to a fifteen minute recess that devolved into a shaming
ritual. Ellis told the publication that her continued disruption was due to the fact that Parker asked her, “What the fuck are you doing?” When Vice Mayor Angie Henderson tried to regain control of the room, Ellis accused her of invoking her “white privilege."

Mics and video feed went offline as the body took a recess. We learned that during that time, multiple councilmembers departed from the council floor alongside Ellis and gathered in a committee room. The group barred the press from entering—ironic given that Ellis was initially making inquiries about Sunshine Laws. At one point, Metro Legal became nervous due to the lack of transparency. The private powwow also prevented the body form achieving quorum, holding up proceedings. 

When the meeting finally resumed, Councilmember Kyonzte Toombs asked for a point of personal privilege on behalf of the Minority Caucus. Vice Mayor Henderson blindly obliged out of optimism, unaware of what Toombs was going to say and hoping it would help smooth things over. Instead, Toombs called out Parker for being racist.

“As the minority caucus, we have to remind our body that the optics of a white male colleague approaching a black female who is seated and using profanity towards her is an act of intimidation, and it can't be tolerated in this body,” said Toombs who then demanded an apology from Parker on the behalf of the caucus and Ellis. Avoiding further discourse, Parker obliged.

We’ve since reached out to Councilmembers Ellis and Parker for comment, as well as asked Councilmember Toombs whether the caucus believed Parker was being racist in his exchange with Ellis. As of this writing, we’ve not received any responses.

Rod's Comment: Sean Parker is a founding member of the Middle TN Democratic Socialists of America. I can't help it; I love to see two woke libs fight. I like it when a woke Black person calls a Democratic Socialist a racist. Does that make me a bad person?

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