Political Quotes

“in 1922, the first robust antilynching bill was successfully passed by the House of Representatives. Once it came to the Senate, a block of Southern segregationists mounted a filibuster to kill it in its tracks. Over the decades, similar bills met similar fates. Throughout the 20th century, scores of antilynching bills were introduced, only to be promptly buried into obscurity. In 2018, Congress came closer than ever to finally passing antilynching legislation before it was thwarted at the eleventh hour. But last night, finally--finally--after more than 200 failed attempts to declare lynching a Federal crime, the Senate succeeded in taking long, overdue action by passing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. Hallelujah. Congress has finally declared lynching a Federal crime, as it should have done more than a century ago. That it took so long is a permanent, bitter stain on American history; but, finally, a century's worth of efforts has now paid off. To say this is a historic accomplishment is impossibly inadequate. Generations of civil rights leaders and advocates dedicated their lives to getting Congress to recognize the humane, obvious truth: that lynching was an intolerable injustice inflicted primarily on disenfranchised Black Americans. Thousands upon thousands of Black Americans have been victims of lynch mobs across the country, and indifferent States have rarely responded, if ever.…”