,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ce  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of    
,,representatives  ,january #c1         
#bjai,mr4 ,rush introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to amend section #bdi of title #ah1    
,united ,states ,code1 to specify       
lynching as a hate crime act4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,emmett ,till ,antilynching ,act4   
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3  7#a7 ,in the #bjth century  
lynching occurred mostly in southern    
,states by ,white southerners against   
,black southerners4  7#b7 ,in #ahib1 the
 ,tuskegee ,institute began to record   
statistics of lynchings and reported    
that #d1gdb reported lynchings had taken
 place by #aifh1 of which #c1dde of the 
victims were ,black4  7#c7 ,most of the 
lynchings that occurred in the ,south   
were mass moblike lynchings4  7#d7 ,mass
 moblike lynchings were barbaric by     
nature characterized by members of the  

mob1 mostly ,white southerners1         
shooting1 burning1 and mutilating the   
victim's body1 alive4  7#e7 ,in ,anatomy
 of a ,lynching3 ,the ,killing of       
,claude ,neal1 community papers readily 
advertised mob lynchings1 as evidenced  
by a ,florida local paper headline3     
,florida to ,burn ,negro at ,stake3 ,sex
 ,criminal ,seized from ,brewton ,jail1 
,will be ,mutilated1 ,set ,afire in     
,extra-,legal ,vengeance for ,deed4     
7#f7 ,civil rights groups documented and
 presented ,congress evidence of        
vigilante moblike lynchings4  7#g7      
,evidence by ,,naacp investigator       
,howard ,kester documented the extreme  
brutality of these lynchings4 ,an       
excerpt from ,anatomy of a ,lynching    
further illustrates this point3 ,after  
taking the nigger to the woods about    
four miles from ,greenwood1 they cut off
 his penis4 ,he was made to eat it4     
,then they cut off his testicles and    
made him eat them and say he liked it4  
7#h7 ,many civil rights groups1 notably 

the ,anti-,lynching ,crusaders1 also    
known as the ,,alc1 operating under the 
umbrella of the ,,naacp1 made numerous  
requests to ,congress to make lynching a
 ,federal crime4  7#i7 ,congressman     
,george ,henry ,white1 an ,african      
,american1 introduced the first ,federal
 antilynching bill and subsequently     
nearly #bjj antilynching bills were     
introduced in the ,congress during the  
first half of the #bjth century4  7#aj7 
,between #ahij and #aieb1 seven         
,presidents petitioned ,congress to end 
lynching4  7#aa7 ,between #aibj and     
#aidj1 the ,house of ,representatives   
passed three strong antilynching        
measures1 of which ,congress came       
closest to enacting antilynching        
legislation sponsored by ,congressman   
,leonidas ,c4 ,dyer in #aibb4  7#ab7 ,on
 all three occasions1 opponents of      
antilynching legislation1 argued        
,states' rights and used the filibuster1
 or the threat of it1 to block the      
,senate from voting on the measures4    

7#ac7 ,the enactment of the ,civil      
,rights ,act of #aifh was the closest   
,congress ever came in the              
post-,reconstruction era to enacting    
antilynching legislation4  7#ad7 ,in    
#bjje1 the ,senate passed a resolution1 
sponsored by ,senators ,mary ,landrieu  
and ,george ,allen1 apologizing for the 
,senate's failure to enact antilynching 
legislation as a ,federal crime1 with   
,senator ,landrieu saying1 ,there may be
 no other injustice in ,american history
 for which the ,senate so uniquely bears
 responsibility4  7#ae7 ,to heal past   
and present racial injustice1 ,congress 
must make lynching a ,federal crime so  
our ,nation can begin reconciliation4   
#c4 ,specifying lynching as a hate crime
 act ,section #bdi7;a7 of title #ah1    
,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7
 by redesignating paragraph 7#d7 as     
paragraph 7#e72 and  7#b7 by inserting  
after paragraph 7#c7 the following3     
7#d7 ,offenses involving lynching       
,whoever1 whether or not acting under   

color of law1 willfully1 acting as part 
of any collection of people1 assembled  
for the purpose and with the intention  
of committing an act of violence upon   
any person1 causes death to any person1 
shall be imprisoned for any term of     
years or for life1 fined under this     
title1 or both4  4