The University of Tennessee at Martin's Student Government Association has passed a resolution condemning two Tennessee laws as racist. After debating the issue Thursday night, the SGA resolution passed in a 16-4 vote.

A new organization at UTM, People for Black History, has been petitioning for the resolution since the second week of the spring 2023 semester. The group's issue is with Tennessee's passage of the Anti-Critical Race Theory or CRT law of 2021, and the Divisive Concepts Act of 2022. 

Both of these laws ban teaching about certain aspects of race and racism in Tennessee schools, K-12 and universities. For instance, funding can be withheld from Tennessee public schools that teach about white privilege and systemic racism in the United States. 

The debate was back and forth, and a large crowd of students and faculty attended the meeting. There was a lot of discussion, and at times the debate was emotional. Several people shared their personal experiences with racism. 

The petition has nearly 800 signatures as of Thursday. Local 6 spoke with the People for Black History group before the meeting. They were passionate in their position that Black history can be uncomfortable, but that does not mean it should be skipped over.