Hoyer Statement Ahead of House Vote on the Emmett Till Antilynching Act

Statement

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement ahead of tonight's vote on the Emmett Till Antilynching Act:

"This evening, the House will vote to make lynching a federal hate crime, just as we did with last Congress with a strong showing of bipartisanship. I want to thank my friend Rep. Bobby Rush for leading this charge over the years. His commitment to this legislation is deeply admirable, and I am proud to support it again today. I also want to thank Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, Chairwoman Joyce Beatty, and the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus who have helped move this legislation forward.

"Lynchings have terrorized our country since its founding, from the era of slavery through the days of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. In particular, they have targeted African Americans and have been used to sow terror in African-American communities nationwide. Even today, we see the imagery and memory of lynching used to intimidate, to instill fear, and to promote racial divisions. The premeditated, extrajudicial killing of individuals by a mob seeking to achieve the aforementioned goals -- or the threat to do so -- has no place in our country. The legislation we are going to pass again tonight is named in memory of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, whose brutal lynching in 1955 shocked the conscience of the whole nation. Our legislation is named in his memory, but it also pays tribute to the thousands of victims of lynching throughout our history. This weekend, I will travel to Montgomery, Alabama, and experience the powerful national monument to lynchings across the American South. It is a monument that I encourage every American to visit, where one can learn about this horrific part of our history, a history we are confronting today in Congress.

"In spite of the overwhelming bipartisan support this legislation had in the House last Congress, the Senate -- then under Republican control -- refused to bring it up for a vote. As we mark the end of Black History Month 2022, I hope the Senate will join the House soon and send the Emmett Till Antilynching Act to President Biden's desk to be signed, at long last, into law."

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