By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA

President Joe Biden on Tuesday, March 29, signed into law the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act of 2022, which makes lynching a federal hate crime.

Earlier this month, the bipartisan measure passed both chambers of Congress.

Named after Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American savagely murdered by a group of white men in Mississippi in 1955, the legislation received push back from three Republicans Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Chip Roy of Texas. Each were the lone votes against the bill.

Emmett Till’s murder sparked the civil rights movement which ultimately led to bills like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other social justice laws.

“I could not have been prouder to stand behind President Biden as he signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law,” National Urban League President Marc Morial stated.

“The act of lynching is a weapon of racial terror that has been used for decades, and our communities are still impacted by these hate crimes to this day,” Morial continued.

“This bill is long overdue, and I applaud President Biden and Members of Congress for their leadership in honoring Emmett Till and other lynching victims by passing this significant piece of legislation.”

According to the bill’s text, “Whoever conspires to commit any offense … shall (A) if death results from the offense, be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.”

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