[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 85 (Thursday, June 23, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE SENATE APOLOGY FOR LYNCHING: A FIRST STEP IN RACIAL RECONCILIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind Members of the House 
of Representatives and the Senate that the problems of racial 
reconciliation will not be addressed or solved with a simple act of 
Congress or an apology.
  Last week, after the Senate officially apologized for its failure to 
pass anti-lynching legislation, I came before this body to recognize 
the important first step of the other chamber on race relations. Today, 
I want to remind this chamber as well that the problems of race 
relations and racism did not evaporate with the end of lynchings in the 
1940s, nor the end of segregation, nor the end of the Civil Rights 
Movement, nor the end of the 20th century. The problems and challenges 
are still alive and well today.
  The lynchings of the early 1900s were a form of torture and control 
used to constrain the aspirations of African Americans and others in 
their fight for freedom and justice. The fear and intimidation used 
then curtailed the ambitions of generations of African-Americans and 
stifled their educational and social progress in this country for 
generations to come. The apology of the Senate is much appreciated, 
but, as I said last week, more needs to be done to undo the harmful 
effect of lynching and Congress's failure to act.
  A champion of anti-lynching legislation in the 1940s is still an 
important voice of civil rights in 2005. The National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). will soon be celebrating its 
centennial year of service to race relations and reconciliation. In the 
early 1900s, it fought for legal remedies to escalating violence and 
torture against African Americans. It stood up proudly and strongly for 
the rights of minorities in the country as they faced a system of 
discrimination and harassment designed to subdue the rights of an 
entire group of Americans.
  Today, following the apology of the Senate, the NAACP is still a 
voice for the disenfranchised and the powerless. Its opinions on the 
next steps in racial reconciliation are important and should be heeded 
by this body. NAACP Interim President and CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes 
also recognized the actions of the Senate last week as an important 
first step. He recommends that the U.S. Congress pursue strategies and 
dialogue focused on alleviating the disparities and inequalities 
between whites and blacks that are the consequence of the systematic 
oppression of blacks by whites throughout the history of the United 
States.
  I submit for the Record the following press release from the NAACP 
concerning the Senate apology. I would hope that my colleagues would 
take a moment to listen to this sage advice. I would like to thank Mr. 
Hayes for his leadership on the issue and his efforts to move the 
nation towards a full accounting of the consequences and an 
acknowledgment of the debt incurred.

              NAACP Says Lynching Resolution Long Overdue

       June 15.--NAACP Interim President and CEO Dennis Courtland 
     Hayes said the U.S. Senate vote to apologize for the 
     lynchings of thousands of people, mostly African Americans, 
     is long overdue, but is a good first step toward 
     reconciliation and the official acknowledgement of a dark 
     period in U.S. history.
       ``The NAACP was formed in 1909 in reaction to the lynchings 
     of African Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries,'' 
     said Hayes. ``Coming 96 years after the NAACP was founded by 
     black and white Americans for the purpose of halting horrific 
     acts such as lynchings, the Senate vote is both a validation 
     of the NAACP's need to exist as it approaches its centennial 
     and a reason to hope that one day all forms of racial 
     lynchings within the United States will cease. The vote 
     offers a ray of hope that America will persevere to see an 
     end to racial disparities in incarceration rates, health 
     care, wealth, housing and employment.''
       Washington Bureau Chief Hilary Shelton said, ``Our hope is 
     that as we move toward reconciliation, the Congress will 
     establish a federal commission to investigate all of the 
     lynchings to determine the extent of the damage done and what 
     it will take for final healing.''
       The resolution, sponsored by Sens. George Allen, R-Va., and 
     Mary Landrieu, D-La., was approved by 80 of the Senate's 100 
     members. Notably absent among the endorsers were two senators 
     from Mississippi, Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott. From 
     1882 to 1968, there were 4,742 lynchings nationally. During 
     that period, Mississippi had the highest number of lynchings, 
     581, according to the Tuskegee Institute records. According 
     to the resolution, 99 percent of the lynching perpetrators 
     escaped punishment.
       The Senate failed to act on federal anti-lynching 
     legislation that passed the House of Representatives three 
     times between 1920 and 1940. The lynchings were often part of 
     a campaign of intimidation against African Americans who 
     sought to vote, own a business, buy land or campaign for 
     equal rights.
       Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and 
     largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and 
     youth members throughout the United States and the world are 
     the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, 
     conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal 
     opportunity in the public and private sectors.

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