On March 29, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, making lynching a federal hate crime. Though we celebrate this historic moment, many are left questioning why this legislation took more than 100 years to enact.
Lynching was a “Southern horror” which became widespread not long after slavery ended. From the 1880s to the 1960s, white mobs terrorized and hanged thousands of Black people. In addition to the everyday occurrences of racial violence perpetrated during this era, racial terrorists tortured, mutilated, decapitated and desecrated Black people, including children. Some were burned alive, and some had their genitals cut off and given away as souvenirs.
Announcements of upcoming lynchings were made during church services, photos were taken, postcards were printed for posterity and entire families attended as if lynching were a spectator sport.
