KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus spoke his mind about embattled House Speaker Glenn Casada -- who will be resigning in August following scandals involving his chief of staff sending racist texts and Casada exchanging sexually explicit text messages with him.
At a Juneteenth celebration at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center Wednesday, Tennessee Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) said the state legislature still has deep-seated issues with bigotry and racism.
►READ MORE: It's Juneteenth! Knoxville's Beck Cultural Exchange Center hosts several events for the holiday
"We've got to have proper leadership coming out of the Speaker's office if we're going to advance the agenda for the people of the great state of Tennessee," he said.
Casada will formally leave his post on Aug. 2.
Gov. Bill Lee announced he will be holding a special session sometime in mid-to-late August to decide who will replace him.