Emmett Till Antilynching Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, the bill before us today recalls a dark period in our Nation's history. Lynching is an especially horrible act of violence. It was and is as wrong as wrong can be.

Last century, lynchings were a common atrocity committed by the Ku Klux Klan against the Black community. From the 1880s to the 1960s, approximately 4,743 individuals were lynched in the United States, of whom 3,400 victims were African American.

The bill before us today will make lynching a hate crime under the Federal code. There should be no doubt that our Nation condemns lynching in the strongest possible terms, which is why I was surprised that the bill reported out of committee minimized the importance of the gravity of the crime of lynching. I am pleased, however, that the majority is bringing this version to the floor rather than the text reported out of committee.

The bill reported out of committee simply criminalized conspiracies to commit any type of hate crime no matter how insignificant the injury. The bill before us today criminalizes a conspiracy if death or serious bodily injury occurs.

Madam Speaker, I hope we can all stand with one voice and condemn the atrocity of lynching. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
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Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I would just say that I hope we do have a unanimous vote and support this good piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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