Congress Must Make Lynching A Federal Hate Crime

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, we will be voting on later this afternoon. I am pleased to see the House take steps in finally addressing this issue.

Like many, despite our Nation's ugly history of lynchings, I was shocked to learn that there was no law making lynching a Federal hate crime.

My home in Omaha area is not unlike many other towns across the country with a gruesome past of lynching. George Smith was murdered in October 1891, and this past fall marked the 100th anniversary of the murder of Will Brown on the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse during the Red Summer. The hands of lawless and angry mobs in Omaha beat and lynched these men in what can only be characterized as racial terrorism.

We cannot simply wash away the past, but in order for our Nation to heal from past racial injustice, Congress must specify criminal penalties for the crime of lynching or conspiracy to commit lynching.

With at least 5,000 lynchings in our Nation's history, this bill is important as an acknowledgement that this evil did occur, that millions felt fear in their homes and communities, that many feared for their lives, the lives of their dads and their sons, and that this formal acknowledgement will help facilitate reconciliation.

Last year, I was approached by local African American community leaders to look into antilynching legislation. I felt that the language from Senator Harris' bill that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate was the right one to support here in the House. This is how we are going to pass a bill and get it signed by the President of the United States. It is because of these reasons that I was honored to introduce the Senate-passed language in the House.

The bill we are voting on today contains the language of my bill that I introduced 8 months ago verbatim. I do not complain because in the end, I want results. We want results. We are closer than we have ever been in making lynching a Federal crime. The action is long overdue, going back 200 attempts since 1918, and today we are going to make history once and for all on this issue.

It has been my privilege to be an advocate on this issue. I applaud Senator Harris and Congressman Rush who have championed this bill for years. We will finally get this bill to the President's desk to be signed into law in order to close one of the ugliest chapters in America's history once and for all.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source