(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic Emmett Till Antilynching Act (H.R. 35) by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 410–4. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush (IL-01) and has 148 cosponsors, including Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08).
“Today is a historic day for this U.S. House of Representatives, this Congress, and the American people. Being from Chicago, the death of Emmett Till sent shockwaves through my community and personally affected me and my family. However, his death would not be in vain, for it was the spark that ignited the long arc of the civil rights movement, leading us to this very moment,” said Rep. Rush.
“With the passage of this bill we correct a historical injustice, based on a lie, that took the life of this young man. We also bring justice to the over 4000 victims of lynching, most of them African-Americans, who have had their lives tragically, and horrifically cut short at the hands of racist mobs and hate-filled hordes. After 120 years, and 200 failed attempts, the House finally positions itself on the right side of history, outlawing the heinous act of lynching once and for all.
“I am immensely grateful to my colleagues in the House for their support and to Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Chairman Nadler, and Chairwoman Bass for making this bill a priority.”
The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is also supported by the following Members of Congress:
Alma S. Adams (D-N.C.)
Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.)
Karen Bass (D-Calif.)
Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio)
Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.)
Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)
Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.)
Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
Brendan F. Boyle (D-Pa.)
Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.)
Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.)
G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.)
Salud O. Carbajal (D-Calif.)
André Carson (D-Ind.)
Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.)
Sean Casten (D-Ill.)
Kathy Castor (D-Fla.)
Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)
Judy Chu (D-Calif.)
David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.)
Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-Calif.)
Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass.)
Yvette D. Clarke (D-N.Y.)
Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.)
Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.)
James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.)
Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.)
Angie Craig (D-Minn.)
Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.)
Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.)
Susan Davis (D-Calif.)
Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.)
Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.)
Diana DeGette (D-Colo.)
Val Butler Demings (D-Fla.)
Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.)
Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL)
Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.)
Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.)
Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.)
Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.)
Dwight Evans (D-Pa.)
Bill Foster (D-Ill.)
Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio)
Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii)
John Garamendi (D-Calif.)
Sylvia R. Garcia (D-Texas)
Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.)
Al Green (D-Texas)
Raúl M.Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
Josh Harder (D-Calif.)
Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.)
Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.)
Steven Horsford (D-Nev.)
Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas)
Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-N.Y.)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas)
Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (D-Ga.)
William R. Keating (D-Mass.)
Robin L. Kelly (D-Ill.)
Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Mass.)
Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
Daniel T. Kildee (D-Mich.)
Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.)
Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.)
Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.)
Brenda L. Lawrence (D-Mich.)
Al Lawson, Jr. (D-Fla.)
Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
Susie Lee (D-Nev.)
John Lewis (D-Ga.)
Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)
Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.)
Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.)
Elaine G. Luria (D-Va.)
Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.)
Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.)
Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.)
Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.)
Doris O. Matsui (D-Calif.)
Lucy McBath (D-Ga.)
Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
James P. McGovern (D-Mass.)
Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.)
Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.)
Grace Meng (D-N.Y.)
Gwen Moore (D-Wis.)
Joseph D. Morelle (D-N.Y.)
Seth Moulton (D-Mass.)
Debbie Mucarsel Powell (D-Fla.)
Stephanie N. Murphy (D-Fla.)
Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.)
Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.)
Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)
Donald Norcross (D-N.J.)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.)
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.)
Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.)
Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.)
Chris Pappas (D-N.H.)
Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-N.J.)
Scott H. Peters (D-Calif.)
Dean Phillips (D-Minn.)
Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)
Mike Quigley (D-Ill.)
Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)
Kathleen Rice (D-Mass.)
Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.)
Max Rose (D-N.Y.)
Harley Rouda (D-Calif.)
Lucille Roybal Allard (D-Calif)
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.)
Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)
Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.)
John P. Sarbanes (D-Md.)
Janice D. Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
Bradley Scott Schneider (D-Ill.)
David Scott (D-Ga.)
Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.)
José E. Serrano (D-N.Y.)
Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.)
Donna E. Shalala (D-Fla.)
Brad Sherman (D-Calif.)
Albio Sires (D-N.J.)
Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.)
Adam Smith (D-Wash.)
Darren Soto (D-Fla.)
Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-Va.)
Jackie Speier (D-Calif.)
Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.)
Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)
Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.)
Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
Lori Trahan (D-Mass.)
Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio)
Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.)
Juan Vargas (D-Calif.)
Marc A. Veasey (D-Texas)
Filemon Vela (D-Texas)
Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.)
Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)
Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.)
Susan Wild (D-Pa.)
Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.)
John A. Yarmuth (D-Ky.)