Don Bacon: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank Chairman Rush for his leadership, his heart for this bill, and I thank the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank Chairman Rush for his leadership, his heart for this bill, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member for giving me a chance to speak and for their comments. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. I am pleased to see the House take steps in finally addressing this issue. Like many, despite our Nation's ugly history of lynchings, I was shocked to learn that there was no law making lynching a Federal crime. My hometown area of Omaha is not unlike many other towns across the country with a gruesome past of lynching. George Smith was murdered in October 1891, and this past fall marked the 100th anniversary of the murder of Will Brown on the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse during the Red Summer. The hands of lawless and angry mobs in Omaha beat and lynched these men in what only can be characterized as racial terrorism. We cannot simply wash away the past, but in order for our Nation to heal from past racial injustice, Congress must specify criminal penalties for the crime of lynching or any attempt or conspiracy to commit lynching.…”