RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT
Lynching In America, Soon To Be A Crime – One Hundred Years Later ‘Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.’ (Matthew 5:26, KJV) According to NPR and most major news sources, the Senate did their job on March 7 and approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) that makes lynching a federal hate crime. Now that it has passed in both the House and Senate, the bill is heading for the desk of President Biden for his signature. Specifically, HR55 imposes criminal penalties – a fine, a prison term of up to 30 years, or both, on an individual who conspires to commit a hate crime offense that results in death or serious bodily injury or that includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill. If this bill had been in place when Ahmaud Arbery was murdered, according to the bill, the three men responsible would have been charged with lynching. It's hard to believe, that a bill so simple as “thou shalt not kill” would require more than 200 failed attempts to outlaw lynching in America. Finally, Ida B. Wells can rest in peace. Congress has finally succeeded in taking long overdue action by passing the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY echoed these sentiments. Thank you Congressman Rush, this was a long time coming, but you never took your eye off the prize. The House overwhelmingly approved a similar measure in 2020 but it was blocked in the Senate. While it eased through both chambers of Congress this time with virtually no opposition, the path to passage took over 100 years. The bill, named the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act after the 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was lynched while visiting family in Mississippi, a crime can be prosecuted as a lynching when a hate crime results in a death or injury according to Rush, a longtime sponsor of the legislation.
"Lynching is a longstanding and uniquely American weapon of racial terror that has for decades been used to maintain the white hierarchy," Rush said in a statement Monday evening. "Unanimous Senate passage of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act sends a clear and emphatic message that our nation will no longer ignore this shameful chapter of our history and that the full force of the U.S. federal government will always be brought to bear against those who commit this heinous act." It seems only fitting that we would take the time to honor Ida B. Wells during these perilous times, with the latest insurrection stories and with Blacks still being looked upon as second class citizens. Ida B. Wells traveled throughout the South investigating lynching for years during the 1800s. She used eyewitness interviews, testimonies from families and looked through records. The New York Times in its obituary for Wells noted, “She pioneered reporting techniques that remain central tenets of modern journalism.” What she discovered was that the notion of Black men being lynched for raping white women was almost always unfounded. Disputes usually started over completely unrelated things, as
it had with her friend Thomas Moss, killed over a dispute that began with two children playing marbles. She boldly reported her findings in an editorial in the newspaper that she co-owned and edited, The Memphis Free Press and Headlight. That editorial soon caused a riot in Memphis and she was forced to leave her home to save her life. The office of the newspaper was destroyed. One day, her pastor told Wells something that changed the trajectory of her life. She learned that her friend Thomas had been murdered. He begged for his life for the sake of his wife, daughter and unborn child. When he realized he was going to die, he said, “Tell my people to go West; there is no justice for them here.” Wells could not believe what she had heard. She immediately returned to Memphis. Even on her train ride, she faced injustice. While the purchaser of a first-class ticket, the conductor told her she’d have to move to a different coach – the smoking car. Instead of moving, Wells exited the train at the next station. She devoted the rest of her life to investigating, reporting and lecturing worldwide on the growing number of Blacks lynched and the injustice behind such heinous acts. WI
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