House passes Emmett Till Antilynching bill, making lynching a federal hate crime
Those found guilty of lynching could face up to 30 years in prison. The bill introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Andrew S. Clyde, R-Ga. were among those who voted against the new bill.
“By passing my Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, the House has sent a resounding message that our nation is finally reckoning with one of the darkest and most horrific periods of our history and that we are morally and legally committed to changing course,” Rush said.
Till a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was lynched in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. Till was abducted from his family’s home, tortured, and fatally shot before being tossed into the Tallahatchie River.
While Till’s killers were arrested and charged with murder, they were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury. After the acquittal, the killers sold their story of killing Till to a journalist, PBS reported.
One of Till’s family members, who lived with the teen until his murder, applauded the new anti-lynching bill, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
“Hopefully people will think twice before they go out and commit a crime against a different person because of their race or gender or lifestyle,” Ollie Gordon, Emmett Till’s cousin said.
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