Jon S. Corzine: “over 4,700 people, mostly African American, were victims of lynching in the United States between 1882 and 1968. This…”

“over 4,700 people, mostly African American, were victims of lynching in the United States between 1882 and 1968. This represents one of the low points in our history as a Nation--a time when our Nation turned away from its responsibility to our fellow citizens and failed to do the right thing. We condemn these terrible crimes and ask forgiveness for the failure of the Senate to act. We are reminded that our history is not perfect and that the Senate made a costly mistake, calculated not in dollar figures but in human lives. I am deeply saddened by the fact that during a time when our commitment to justice for all Americans was tested the U.S. Senate failed to enact antilynching legislation to stop this brutal, tragic, and senseless violence. And so I join my colleagues in this apology. It would be a mistake to see lynching as distant history for that is simply not the case. Lynching occurred in the United States until 1968 and was committed in 46 States, including New Jersey. Lynching was used to kill, humiliate, and dehumanize African Americans and, to a lesser extent, other minorities. It was intended to teach minorities a lesson--that if they did not follow the established social code of conduct between the races and classes, they too might suffer this fate. Indeed, there are countless stories of African American teenage boys who were allegedly lynched for talking back to a White man or looking at a White woman.…”