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Congressman Cohen Votes for House Passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act

Press Release

Date: Feb. 28, 2022
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Criminal Justice

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today voted for and the House passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, making lynching for the first time a federal crime. Emmett Till was a Chicago teenager lynched in Money, Mississippi, not far south of Memphis, in 1955.

The vote was 422 to 3.

During a Committee markup in December, Congressman spoke of the Mid-South region's familiarity with lynching and the need to make it a federal crime.

At the time, he said:

"I know about lynchings, as we all do from history, but unfortunately they occurred in our community -- my community of Memphis. Ida B. Wells, who spent some time in Memphis, once said "the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.'…This bill takes an important step to "shine the light of truth' by finally making lynching a federal hate crime."


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