SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, passed the House overwhelmingly on a 410-4 vote. (Image: screenshot/CSPAN)
Approximately 120 Years Too Late, US House Passes Law to Make Lynching a Federal Crime
"Today, we send a strong message that violence—and race-based violence, in particular—has no place in America."
Feb 25, 2020
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a historic bill making lynching a federal hate crime--a vote that historians, progressives, and anti-racist activists said was more than a century overdue.
"Lynching is an American evil," tweeted Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the bill's lead sponsor. "Today, we send a strong message that violence--and race-based violence, in particular--has no place in America."
\u201cLynching is an American evil. Today, we \nsend a strong message that violence\u2014and race-based violence, in particular\u2014has no place in America.\n\nThank you to my colleagues in the House & Senate who have joined me to correct this injustice. #OutlawLynching https://t.co/io451Agyne\u201d— Bobby L. Rush (@Bobby L. Rush) 1582747929
H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, passed the House overwhelmingly on a 410-4 vote, with Reps. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), Louis Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) voting "no." Sixteen representatives, from both sides of the aisle, did not vote on the bill.
It's been a long time coming, as the Washington Post reported:
The measure's passage comes after lawmakers tried, and failed, to pass anti-lynching bills nearly 200 times.
The earliest such attempt came in 1900, when Rep. George Henry White (R-N.C.), then the country's only black member of Congress, stood on the floor of the House and read the text of his unprecedented measure, which would have prosecuted lynchings at the federal level. The bill later died in committee.
Rush's fellow lawmakers congratulated him on passing the bill through the House while noting that it shouldn't have taken so long.
"For far too long, the House of Representatives has lacked the moral courage to designate lynching as federal crime," Rep. Jerrod Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "While we cannot undo the abhorrent damage caused by decades of unjust lynching, today's passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act marks a meaningful step towards correcting our nation's history with this racist act of violence."
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement that it was a "travesty that it has taken 120 years since antilynching legislation was first introduced in 1900, for the United States government to address this issue."
"Lynching is an act of terrorism and was common for the 256 years during the period of enslavement of Africans in this country and for the 100 years after that period," said Bass.
Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, welcomed the passage of the legislation and pointed out that it comes as hate crimes are on the rise nationally.
"Given increased hate crimes, it is imperative that we remember the racial terror inflicted on thousands of Black Americans and acknowledge our history of racial violence," said Clarke.
\u201cBREAKING: House passes the Emmet Till Antilynching Act which designates lynching as a federal hate crime. Given increased hate crimes, it is imperative that we remember the racial terror inflicted on thousands of Black Americans and acknowledge our history of racial violence.\u201d— Kristen Clarke (@Kristen Clarke) 1582745556
The Senate unanimously passed anti-lynching legislation on February 14, 2019.
According to the New York Times, while the two bills will have to be reconciled, that's a formality and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a historic bill making lynching a federal hate crime--a vote that historians, progressives, and anti-racist activists said was more than a century overdue.
"Lynching is an American evil," tweeted Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the bill's lead sponsor. "Today, we send a strong message that violence--and race-based violence, in particular--has no place in America."
\u201cLynching is an American evil. Today, we \nsend a strong message that violence\u2014and race-based violence, in particular\u2014has no place in America.\n\nThank you to my colleagues in the House & Senate who have joined me to correct this injustice. #OutlawLynching https://t.co/io451Agyne\u201d— Bobby L. Rush (@Bobby L. Rush) 1582747929
H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, passed the House overwhelmingly on a 410-4 vote, with Reps. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), Louis Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) voting "no." Sixteen representatives, from both sides of the aisle, did not vote on the bill.
It's been a long time coming, as the Washington Post reported:
The measure's passage comes after lawmakers tried, and failed, to pass anti-lynching bills nearly 200 times.
The earliest such attempt came in 1900, when Rep. George Henry White (R-N.C.), then the country's only black member of Congress, stood on the floor of the House and read the text of his unprecedented measure, which would have prosecuted lynchings at the federal level. The bill later died in committee.
Rush's fellow lawmakers congratulated him on passing the bill through the House while noting that it shouldn't have taken so long.
"For far too long, the House of Representatives has lacked the moral courage to designate lynching as federal crime," Rep. Jerrod Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "While we cannot undo the abhorrent damage caused by decades of unjust lynching, today's passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act marks a meaningful step towards correcting our nation's history with this racist act of violence."
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement that it was a "travesty that it has taken 120 years since antilynching legislation was first introduced in 1900, for the United States government to address this issue."
"Lynching is an act of terrorism and was common for the 256 years during the period of enslavement of Africans in this country and for the 100 years after that period," said Bass.
Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, welcomed the passage of the legislation and pointed out that it comes as hate crimes are on the rise nationally.
"Given increased hate crimes, it is imperative that we remember the racial terror inflicted on thousands of Black Americans and acknowledge our history of racial violence," said Clarke.
\u201cBREAKING: House passes the Emmet Till Antilynching Act which designates lynching as a federal hate crime. Given increased hate crimes, it is imperative that we remember the racial terror inflicted on thousands of Black Americans and acknowledge our history of racial violence.\u201d— Kristen Clarke (@Kristen Clarke) 1582745556
The Senate unanimously passed anti-lynching legislation on February 14, 2019.
According to the New York Times, while the two bills will have to be reconciled, that's a formality and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a historic bill making lynching a federal hate crime--a vote that historians, progressives, and anti-racist activists said was more than a century overdue.
"Lynching is an American evil," tweeted Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the bill's lead sponsor. "Today, we send a strong message that violence--and race-based violence, in particular--has no place in America."
\u201cLynching is an American evil. Today, we \nsend a strong message that violence\u2014and race-based violence, in particular\u2014has no place in America.\n\nThank you to my colleagues in the House & Senate who have joined me to correct this injustice. #OutlawLynching https://t.co/io451Agyne\u201d— Bobby L. Rush (@Bobby L. Rush) 1582747929
H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, passed the House overwhelmingly on a 410-4 vote, with Reps. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), Louis Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) voting "no." Sixteen representatives, from both sides of the aisle, did not vote on the bill.
It's been a long time coming, as the Washington Post reported:
The measure's passage comes after lawmakers tried, and failed, to pass anti-lynching bills nearly 200 times.
The earliest such attempt came in 1900, when Rep. George Henry White (R-N.C.), then the country's only black member of Congress, stood on the floor of the House and read the text of his unprecedented measure, which would have prosecuted lynchings at the federal level. The bill later died in committee.
Rush's fellow lawmakers congratulated him on passing the bill through the House while noting that it shouldn't have taken so long.
"For far too long, the House of Representatives has lacked the moral courage to designate lynching as federal crime," Rep. Jerrod Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "While we cannot undo the abhorrent damage caused by decades of unjust lynching, today's passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act marks a meaningful step towards correcting our nation's history with this racist act of violence."
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement that it was a "travesty that it has taken 120 years since antilynching legislation was first introduced in 1900, for the United States government to address this issue."
"Lynching is an act of terrorism and was common for the 256 years during the period of enslavement of Africans in this country and for the 100 years after that period," said Bass.
Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, welcomed the passage of the legislation and pointed out that it comes as hate crimes are on the rise nationally.
"Given increased hate crimes, it is imperative that we remember the racial terror inflicted on thousands of Black Americans and acknowledge our history of racial violence," said Clarke.
\u201cBREAKING: House passes the Emmet Till Antilynching Act which designates lynching as a federal hate crime. Given increased hate crimes, it is imperative that we remember the racial terror inflicted on thousands of Black Americans and acknowledge our history of racial violence.\u201d— Kristen Clarke (@Kristen Clarke) 1582745556
The Senate unanimously passed anti-lynching legislation on February 14, 2019.
According to the New York Times, while the two bills will have to be reconciled, that's a formality and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.