Biden signs Emmett Till anti-lynching bill into law

President Biden on Tuesday signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law, designating lynching as a federal hate crime. Congress previously failed to pass anti-lynching legislation at least 240 times.
Among those who attended the signing was Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., a cousin of Emmett Till who was with the 14-year-old in Mississippi when he was lynched in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously in March after passing the House 422-3 in February. When the bill was previously before the House in 2020, then-Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) opposed the bill, arguing on Twitter that it was unnecessary.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Murdering someone on account of their race, or conspiring to do so, is not legal under federal law. It's already a federal crime, and it's already a hate crime," Amash wrote. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also argued the bill needed to be more clearly differentiated.
Under previously existing U.S. law, willfully causing "bodily injury" to someone because of "actual or perceived race, color, religion ... national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability" was already punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or by life in prison if the victim died as a result.
Writing for The Washington Post, author Theodore R. Johnson argued that while the law is largely symbolic, its symbolism "is actually its most important and consequential feature."
"In the same way that circumstances dictate whether a collection of murders can be labeled a mass shooting, domestic terrorism or a hate crime, calling an act of hate lynching adds social and political heft to the charge," he wrote.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’
Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland