[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     APOLOGY TO VICTIMS OF LYNCHING

  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, 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. Those acts were seen as transgressions in the eyes of 
lynch mobs who failed to understand one of the most central tenets of 
our great Nation--that we are all equal under the Constitution and laws 
of the United States of America.
  In reality, it was not only the lynch mobs that failed to understand 
that we are all equal. State and local governments also failed to 
uphold this democratic principle. Although State and local laws 
prohibited murder and other violent crime, State and local officials 
failed to enforce these laws when they applied to lynching victims. And 
so lynching continued through the first half of the 20th Century as our 
society and government failed to hold the people who committed these 
crimes accountable.
  Mr. President, lynching also continued because many communities 
implicitly sanctioned such events. We are not talking about secret 
affairs held under cover of darkness by men wearing hoods to hide their 
identity. We are talking about public spectacles held in town squares 
during broad day-light with no attempt by the participants to shield 
their identity. Indeed, there are countless stories of community 
celebrations surrounding lynching: of businesses closed so locals could 
attend, of postcards sent out commemorating these horrific events, and 
of souvenirs such as pieces of hanging rope sold to onlookers.
  American Presidents asked the Senate, on seven separate occasions, to 
enact antilynching legislation to stop the violence. From 1900 to 1950, 
approximately 200 antilynching bills were introduced in Congress. And 
between 1920 and 1940, the U.S. House of Representatives passed three 
such bills. But the Senate remained silent and it was that silence that 
prevented the enactment of a Federal antilynching law.
  This resolution is an acknowledgement that the Senate, in failing to 
pass a Federal antilynching law, ceased to protect many American 
citizens. While Federal legislation may not be the ideal solution in 
all areas of criminal justice, it has been essential in the realm of 
civil rights. When States have failed to enforce their own criminal 
laws because of local pressure or bias, the Federal Government has 
frequently established laws to vindicate the civil rights of all 
Americans.
  Mr. President, I strongly believe that it is not enough for us to 
stand here and apologize for things that happened in the past. We must 
use this recognition of the Senate's past inaction to motivate us to 
enact laws today that protect the basic civil rights of all Americans, 
such as the Local Law Enforcement Act of 2005. This bill, which I am 
proud to cosponsor, will strengthen the ability of the Federal, State, 
and local governments to investigate and prosecute hate crimes based on 
race, ethnic background, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and 
disability. I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, a true test 
of the commitment of the Senate to do the right thing.

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