Emmett Till Antilynching Act

2022 US hate crime legislation

Emmett Till Antilynching Act

Long title| To amend section 249 of title 18, United States Code, to specify lynching as a hate crime act.
Enacted by| the 117th United States Congress
Effective| March 29, 2022
Citations
Public law| Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 117–107 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large| 136 Stat. 1125
Codification
U.S.C. sections amended| 18 U.S.C. § 249
Legislative history

* Introduced in the House as H.R. 55 by Bobby Rush (D–IL) on January 4, 2021
* Committee consideration by House Judiciary
* Passed the House on February 28, 2022 (422–3)
* Passed the Senate on March 7, 2022 (unanimous consent)
* Signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 29, 2022

Then-Senator Kamala Harris debates in support of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act on June 5, 2020.

The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is a United States federal law which defines lynching as a federal hate crime, increasing the maximum penalty to 30 years imprisonment for several hate crime offences.[1][2]

It was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on February 28, 2022, and U.S. Senate on March 7, 2022, and signed into law on March 29, 2022, by President Joe Biden.[3]

## Background

[edit]

Main article: Lynching in the United States

The bill was named after 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, sparking national and international outrage after photos of his mutilated corpse were published in Black-oriented print media.

A federal antilynching bill had been in discussion for over a century and had been proposed hundreds of times.[4][5] Past attempts which passed at least one legislative chamber include the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, the Costigan-Wagner Bill and the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act.

## 116th Congress

[edit]

Representative Bobby Rush introduced a bill, H.R. 35, on January 3, 2019, at the beginning of the 116th United States Congress.

The bill was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee on October 31, 2019, and was passed by the House, 410–4, on February 26, 2020.[6]

During June 2020, while protests and civil unrest over the murder of George Floyd were occurring nationwide, the bill was considered by the Senate. Senator Rand Paul prevented the bill from being passed by unanimous consent as he opposed the bill's language for being overly broad. Paul felt the legislation would include attacks which he felt were not extreme enough to qualify as "lynching", stating that "this bill would cheapen the meaning of lynching by defining it so broadly as to include a minor bruise or abrasion."[7] Paul proposed an amendment that would apply a "serious bodily injury standard" for a crime to be considered as lynching.[8]

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer criticized Rand Paul's position, saying on Twitter that "it is shameful that one GOP Senator is standing in the way of seeing this bill become law." Then-senator Kamala Harris added that "Senator Paul is now trying to weaken a bill that was already passed — there's no reason for this" while speaking to have the amendment defeated.[8][7]

## 117th Congress

[edit]

President Joe Biden signs the Emmett Till Antilynching Act in the White House Rose Garden on March 29, 2022

The bill was reintroduced by Rush as H.R. 55 for the 117th Congress, this time revised to include a serious bodily injury standard,[9] and was passed by the House on February 28, 2022. The vote was 422–3, with Republicans Andrew Clyde, Thomas Massie, and Chip Roy voting against. The bill was introduced to the Senate by Senator Cory Booker and cosponsored by Senators Paul, Tim Scott, and Raphael Warnock, among others.[10] They passed the bill through unanimous consent on March 7, 2022.[11][12][9][13][14] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer remarked on the Senate floor after the bill’s passage that: "After more than 200 failed attempts to outlaw lynching, Congress is finally succeeding in taking the long overdue action by passing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Hallelujah. It’s long overdue.” The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 29, 2022.[1]

## Text

[edit]

The act amends section 249(a) of Title 18 of the United States Code[15] to include:

> (5) LYNCHING.—Whoever conspires to commit any offense under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall, if death or serious bodily injury (as defined in section 2246 of this title) results from the offense, be imprisoned for not more than 30 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both.

> (6) OTHER CONSPIRACIES.—Whoever conspires to commit any offense under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall, if death or serious bodily injury (as defined in section 2246 of this title) results from the offense, or if the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, be imprisoned for not more than 30 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both.

## Legislative history

[edit]

Congress  | Short title  | Bill number(s)  | Date introduced  | Sponsor(s)  | # of cosponsors  | Latest status

|
|
|
|
|
|

116th Congress | Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2019  | H.R. 35 | January 3, 2019  | Bobby Rush
(D-IL1)  | 148  | Passed the House.[6]
S.488 | February 14, 2019  | Kamala Harris
(D-CA)  | 47  | Objected to by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY).[8]
117th Congress | Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2021  | H.R. 55 | January 4, 2021  | Bobby Rush
(D-IL1)  | 181  | Became law.[1]
S.3710 | February 28, 2022  | Cory Booker
(D-NJ)  | 9  | Passed the Senate.[16]

## See also

[edit]

* Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, 1918
* Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, 2018
* Lynching in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c McDaniel, Eric; Moore, Elena (March 29, 2022). "Lynching is now a federal hate crime after a century of blocked efforts". NPR. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
2. ^ Gamble, Giselle Rhoden,Justin (March 1, 2022). "House passes Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act with overwhelmingly bipartisan support | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ "All Actions: H.R.55 — 117th Congress (2021-2022)". Archived from the original on April 1, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
4. ^ "The Senate has passed a bill making lynching a federal crime". Politico. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
5. ^ Logan, Erin B. (July 5, 2018) "Why Congress failed nearly 200 times to make lynching a federal crime" Archived January 22, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post.
6. ^ a b "H.R.35 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. February 27, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
7. ^ a b Foran, Clare; Fox, Lauren (June 4, 2020). "Emotional debate erupts over anti-lynching legislation as Cory Booker and Kamala Harris speak out against Rand Paul amendment". CNN. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
8. ^ a b c Barrett, Ted; Foran, Clare (June 3, 2020). "Rand Paul holds up anti-lynching legislation as he seeks changes to bill". CNN. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
9. ^ a b Sonmez, Felicia (March 8, 2022). "Senate unanimously passes anti-lynching bill after century of failure". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
10. ^ Zaslav, Ali; Foran, Clare (March 2, 2022). "Rand Paul says he'll back Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022 after holding up previous bill". CNN. Archived from the original on February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
11. ^ Flynn, Meagan (February 21, 2020). "A black lawmaker's anti-lynching bill failed 120 years ago. Now, the House may finally act". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
12. ^ Ella Torres (February 26, 2022). "Emmett Till bill making lynching a federal crime passes House". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
13. ^ Peter Granitz (March 8, 2022). "Senate passes anti-lynching bill". NPR. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
14. ^ Jeffery A. Jenkins and Justin Peck (March 9, 2022). "Congress finally passed a federal anti-lynching bill — after 120 years of failure". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
15. ^ "Text - H.R.55 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Emmett till Antilynching Act". March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
16. ^ "Senate passes Emmett till Antilynching Act of 2022". CNN. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Emmett Till Antilynching Act (PDF/details) as amended in the GPO Statute Compilations collection
* Emmett Till Antilynching Act (PDF/details) as enacted in the US Statutes at Large

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emmett Till Antilynching Act.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Emmett Till Antilynching Act

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Lynching in the United States

List of lynching victims in the United States

| Before 1900|

* Francis McIntosh (1836)
* Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1837)
* Josefa Segovia (1851)
* Pancho Daniel (1858)
* Joshua Boyd (1863)
* Henry Plummer (1864)
* Bill Sketoe (1864)
* Clubfoot George (1864)
* Steve Long, Ace and Con Moyer (1868)
* Wyatt Outlaw (1870)
* John W. Stephens (1870)
* Alexander Boyd (1870)
* Jim Williams (1871)
* David Jones (1872)
* Jo Reed (1875)
* Arthur St. Clair (1877)
* Michael Green (1878)
* Joseph Standing (1879)
* Big Nose George Parrott (1881)
* Charles Thurber (1882)
* John Wesley Heath (1884)
* Eliza Woods (1886)
* Samuel "Mingo Jack" Johnson (1886)
* Amos Miller (1888)
* Joseph Vermillion (1889)
* George Meadows (1889)
* Ellen Watson (1889)
* Brown Washington (1890)
* Jim Taylor (1891)
* Dick Lundy (1891)
* Joe Coe (1891)
* Robert Lewis (1892)
* Ephraim Grizzard (1892)
* Samuel J. Bush (1893)
* John Peterson (1893)
* Alfred Blount (1893)
* Henry Smith (1893)
* Richard Puryear (1894)
* Stephen Williams (1894)
* Amos Hicks (1894)
* Jacob Henson (1896)
* William Andrews (1897)
* Joseph H. McCoy (1897)
* John Anderson (1898)
* John Henry James (1898)
* F. W. Stewart (1898)
* Sam Hose (1899)
* Benjamin Thomas (1899)

|

1900–1940|

* Fred Rochelle (1901)
* Ballie Crutchfield (1901)
* George Ward (1901)
* Walker Davis (1903)
* J. D. Mayfield (1903)
* George White (1903)
* David Wyatt (1903)
* Marie Thompson (1904)
* Paul Reed and Will Cato (1904)
* Bunk Richardson (1906)
* Ed Johnson (1906)
* Slab Pitts (1906)
* William Burns (1907)
* Earnest Williams (1907)
* Jim Miller (1909)
* James Hodges (1909)
* Matthew Chase (1909)
* "Mose" Creole (1909)
* "Pie" Hill (1909)
* William "Froggie" James and Henry Salzner (1909)
* Grant Richardson (1910)
* King Johnson (1911)
* Name unknown (TX) (1911)
* Laura and L. D. Nelson (1911)
* Will Porter (1911)
* Zachariah Walker (1911)
* Mary Jackson (1912)
* Rob Edwards (1912)
* George Saunders (1912)
* Robert Perry (1913)
* ? Anderson (1913)
* Charles Fisher (1914)
* John Evans (1914)
* Leo Frank (1915)
* Name unknown (MS) (1915)
* Jesse Washington (1916)
* Anthony Crawford (1916)
* Jeff Brown (1916)
* Paulo Boleta (1916)
* Frank Little (1917)
* Charles Jones (1917)
* Ell Persons (1917)
* Robert Prager (1918)
* Mary Turner and her unborn baby (1918)
* Hazel "Hayes" Turner (1918)
* George Taylor (1918)
* Jim McIlherron (1918)
* Olli Kinkkonen (1918)
* Wallace Baynes (1919)
* Will Brown (1919)
* Wesley Everest (1919)
* John Hartfield (1919)
* Jay Lynch (1919)
* Berry Washington (1919)
* Willie Baird (1920)
* Roy Belton (1920)
* Dick Rowland (attempted) (1921)
* Henry Lowry (1921)
* James Harvey and Joe Jordan (1922)
* Joe Pullen (1923)
* Samuel Smith (1924)
* L. Q. Ivy (1925)
* Raymond Byrd (1926)
* James Clark (1926)
* Fred N. Selak (1926)
* Tom Payne (1927)
* John Carter (1927)
* Dan Anderson (1927)
* Will Sherod (1927)
* Bernice Raspberry (1927)
* Owen Flemming (1927)
* Joseph Upchurch (1927)
* Joe Smith (1927)
* Albert Williams (1927)
* Thomas Bradshaw (1927)
* Winston Pounds (1927)
* Thomas Williams (1927)
* Henry Choate (1927)
* Leonard Woods (1927)
* J. C. Collins (1928)
* George Hughes (1930)
* James Cameron (1930)
* Lynching of Raymond Gunn (1931)
* Matthew Williams (1931)
* Shedrick Thompson (1932)
* George Armwood (1933)
* Cordie Cheek (1933)
* Claude Neal (1934)
* Austin Callaway (1940)
* Elbert Williams (1940)

After 1940|

* Felix Hall (1941)
* Johannes Kunze (1943)
* Robert "Bobbie" Hall (1943)
* Willie James Howard (1944)
* Recy Taylor (1944)
* John Cecil Jones (1946)
* Willie Earle (1947)
* Lamar Smith (1955)
* George W. Lee (1955)
* Emmett Till (1955)
* Judge Edward Aaron (1957)
* Willie Edwards (1957)
* Mack Charles Parker (1959)
* Louis Allen (1964)
* Lemuel Penn (1964)
* Frank Morris (1964)
* James Reeb (1965)
* Vernon Dahmer (1966)
* Wharlest Jackson (1967)
* Carol Jenkins (1968)
* Henry Marrow (1970)
* Marian Pyszko (1975)
* Betty Gardner (1978)
* Arthur McDuffie (1979)
* Michael Donald (1981)
* Yusef Hawkins (1989)
* James Byrd Jr. (1998)
* James Craig Anderson (2011)
* Ahmaud Arbery (2020)

Multiple victims

* Death of Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith) (1844)
* Marais des Cygnes, KS, massacre (1858)
* Great Hanging at Gainesville, TX (1862)
* New York City draft riots (1863)
* Detroit race riot (1863)
* ? Lachenais and four others (1863)
* Fort Pillow, TN, massacre (1864)
* Plummer Gang (1864)
* Memphis massacre (1866)
* Gallatin County, KY, race riot (1866)
* New Orleans massacre of 1866
* Reno Brothers Gang (1868)
* Camilla, GA, massacre (1868)
* Steve Long and two half-brothers (1868)
* Pulaski, TN, riot (1868)
* Samuel Bierfield and Lawrence Bowman (1868)
* Opelousas, LA, massacre (1868)
* Bear River City riot (1868)
* Chinese massacre of 1871
* Meridian, MS, race riot (1871)
* Colfax, LA, massacre (1873)
* Election riot of 1874 (AL)
* Juan, Antonio, and Marcelo Moya (1874)
* Benjamin and Mollie French (1876)
* Ellenton, SC, riot (1876)
* Hamburg, SC, massacre (1876)
* Thibodeax, LA, massacre (1878)
* Mart and Tom Horrell (1878)
* Nevlin Porter and Johnson Spencer (1879)
* Elijah Frost, Abijah Gibson, Tom McCracken (1879)
* T.J. House, James West, John Dorsey (1880)
* New Orleans 1891 lynchings (1891)
* Ruggles Brothers (CA) (1892)
* Thomas Moss, Henry Stewart, Calvin McDowell (TN) (1892)
* Porter and Spencer (MS) (1897)
* Phoenix, SC, election riot (1898)
* Wilmington, NC, insurrection (1898)
* Julia and Frazier Baker (1898)
* Pana, IL, riot (1899)
* Watkinsville lynching (1905)
* 1906 Atlanta race massacre
* Kemper County, MS (1906)
* Walker family (1908)
* Springfield race riot of 1908
* Slocum, TX, massacre (1910)
* Laura and L.D. Nelson (1911)
* Harris County, GA, lynchings (1912)
* Newberry, FL, lynchings (1916)
* East St. Louis, IL, riots (1917)
* Lynching rampage in Brooks County, GA (1918)
* Jenkins County, GA, riot (1919)
* Longview, TX, race riot (1919)
* Elaine, AR, race riot (1919)
* Omaha race riot of 1919
* Knoxville riot of 1919
* Red Summer (1919)
* Duluth, MN, lynchings (1920)
* Ocoee, FL, massacre (1920)
* Tulsa race massacre (1921)
* Perry, FL, race riot (1922)
* Rosewood, FL, massacre (1923)
* Jim and Mark Fox (1927)
* Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith (1930)
* Tate County, MS (1932)
* Thomas Harold Thurmond and John M. Holmes (1933)
* Roosevelt Townes and Robert McDaniels (1937)
* Beaumont, TX, Race Riot (1943)
* O'Day Short, wife, and two children (1945)
* Moore's Ford, GA, lynchings (1946)
* Harry and Harriette Moore (1952)
* Anniston, AL (1961)
* Freedom Summer Murders (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner) (1964)
* Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore (1964)

| General|

* Lynching
* Indiana White Caps
* Jim Crow laws
* Ku Klux Klan
* Nadir of American race relations
* Red Shirts
* Jews

|

Anti-lynching movement|

* American anti-lynching activists
* American Crusade Against Lynching
* Jessie Daniel Ames
* Martin C. Ansorge
* Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching
* Flossie Bailey
* William O'Connell Bradley
* Ella Barksdale Brown
* Father Divine
* "Flag Salute"
* N.A.A.C.P.
* National Conference on Lynching
* Paul Robeson
* "Strange Fruit"
* Ida B. Wells

| Legislation|

* Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill
* Costigan-Wagner Bill
* Justice for Victims of Lynching Act
* Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act
* Emmett Till Antilynching Act

|

Defenders of lynching|

* Theodore G. Bilbo
* Cole L. Blease
* Julian S. Carr
* Sidney Johnston Catts
* Thomas Dixon Jr.
* Rebecca Latimer Felton
* John Temple Graves
* John Trotwood Moore
* John T. Morgan
* James Rolph
* Goodloe Sutton
* Benjamin Tillman
* James K. Vardaman
* Thomas E. Watson

Memory|

* America's Black Holocaust Museum
* Civil Rights Memorial
* The Legacy Museum
* National Memorial for Peace and Justice
* National Museum of African American History and Culture
* Southern Poverty Law Center

Related articles|

* James Allen (collector)
* "And you are lynching Negroes"
* Attack on John Shillady
* Battle of Liberty Place
* The Birth of a Nation
* The Clansman
* Deaths in police custody
* Fury (1936 film)
* Hang 'Em High
* Lynching postcard
* Mississippi Burning
* Mississippi Cold Case
* Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson (1965)
* The Ox-Bow Incident
* Parade (musical)
* Reconstruction era
* Red Summer
* Scottsboro Boys
* Silent Parade
* Stone Mountain
* Summer in Mississippi
* Sundown town
* They Won't Forget
* "The United States of Lyncherdom" (Twain)
* United States v. Shipp
* Vendetta (1999 film)
* Wilmington insurrection of 1898

Categories|

* Lynching in the United States
* Lynching deaths in the United States

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