Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act is Now Law
Emmett Till remains a symbol of resistance and hope in American history. The U.S. Senate passed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act on March 7, 2022. Legislation named for the 15-year-old Chicago boy lynched for allegedly whistling at Carolyn Bryant in Mississippi, now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Community Renewal Society supports this legislative landmark. But, we can’t ignore it’s taken too long to get here. An Equal Justice Initiative project documents more than 4,400 lynchings between Reconstruction (1865-1877) and World War II (1939-1945). Till was murdered in 1955.
We thank U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC) for introducing the bi-partisan measure. We also acknowledge Chicago native, U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-1) for first introducing the bill in the House in 2019 and again in 2021.
"By passing the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act into law, we are sending a clear and emphatic message that our nation will no longer ignore this shameful chapter of our history and that, moving forward, the full force of the U.S. federal government will always be brought to bear against those who commit the heinous act of lynching," said U.S. Rep Rush.
For too long, those who have cultivated a culture of brutal violence and crimes against humanity have done so without accountability. With this law, we hope, we move towards a future that will expose and disrupt the silence and the terror of strange fruit.
Acts of lynching across America were historically used as tools of intimidation that denied largely Black and minoritized communities equitable access to basic privileges including voting, employment, education and housing. We celebrate the passing of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act and recognize that disparities remain today for voting rights, wealth distribution and reparations in America.
We are encouraged by the passing of Emmett’s Anti-Lynching Law. We are disturbed that in this 21st Century, such a law is still needed. We are committed to the ongoing work of holding our public officials accountable in the work of dismantling racism, poverty and normalized cultures of violence – too often state sanctioned.
Declaring hate crimes illegal is long overdue. It is a declaration necessary to ensure that the many lives that have been stolen due to domestic terrorism and torture did not die in vain. And maybe, just maybe, it resoundingly affirms what we already know is divinely true, that Indigenous, Black, Brown, Asian, LGBTQIA+ and other minoritized lives, each made in the image of God, matter.
Learn about ways CRS is advocating for a Just Economy, Community Development and Reparations.