SRES39JUN17

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending June 17, 2005

Senate Resolution 39 apologizing to the victims of lynching and the descendants of those victims for the failure of the Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation.

BRIEF

4,742 people, mostly African-Americans, were lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968 and 99 percent of the perpetrators escaped punishment by State or local officials.

The Resolution preamble notes that 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress in the first half of the 1900s, seven presidents petitioned for such laws and the House of Representatives passed three anti-lynching bills but the US Senate never passed a law thereby allowing the madness to continue.

Although the Resolution expresses deep regret and apologies the bill does not specifically condemn or prohibit lynching.

Sponsor: Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (June 13, 2005)

The Resolution was passed by voice vote and was sponsored by 85 Senators. 15 Senators did not sign on to sponsor the legislation. They are: Lamar Alexander (R-TN); Robert Bennett (R-UT); Thad Cochran (R-MA); John Cornyn (R-TX); Michael Crapo (R-ID); Mike Enzi (R-WY); Charles Grassley (R-IA); Judd Gregg (R-NH); Orrin Hatch (R-UT); Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX); Jon Kyl (R-AZ); Trent Lott (R-MS); Richard Shelby (R-AL); John Sununu (R-NH) and Thomas Craig (R-WY).

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

Whereas the crime of lynching succeeded slavery as the ultimate expression of racism in the United States following Reconstruction;

Whereas lynching was a widely acknowledged practice in the United States until the middle of the 20th century;

Whereas lynching was a crime that occurred throughout the United States, with documented incidents in all but 4 States;

Whereas at least 4,742 people, predominantly African-Americans, were reported lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968;

Whereas 99 percent of all perpetrators of lynching escaped from punishment by State or local officials;

Whereas lynching prompted African-Americans to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and prompted members of B'nai B'rith to found the Anti-Defamation League;

Whereas nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress during the first half of the 20th century;

Whereas, between 1890 and 1952, 7 Presidents petitioned Congress to end lynching;

Whereas, between 1920 and 1940, the House of Representatives passed 3 strong anti-lynching measures;

Whereas protection against lynching was the minimum and most basic of Federal responsibilities, and the Senate considered but failed to enact anti-lynching legislation despite repeated requests by civil rights groups, Presidents, and the House of Representatives to do so;

Whereas the recent publication of `Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America' helped bring greater awareness and proper recognition of the victims of lynching;

Whereas only by coming to terms with history can the United States effectively champion human rights abroad; and

Whereas an apology offered in the spirit of true repentance moves the United States toward reconciliation and may become central to a new understanding, on which improved racial relations can be forged: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) apologizes to the victims of lynching for the failure of the Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation;

(2) expresses the deepest sympathies and most solemn regrets of the Senate to the descendants of victims of lynching, the ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded all citizens of the United States; and

(3) remembers the history of lynching, to ensure that these tragedies will be neither forgotten nor repeated.

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