[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 39 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
1st Session
S. RES. 39
Apologizing to the victims of lynching and the descendants of those
victims for the failure of the Senate to enact anti-lynching
legislation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 7, 2005
Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Levin, Mr. Frist, Mr. Reid,
Mr. Allard, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bayh, Ms. Collins, Mr. Biden,
Mr. Ensign, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Dayton,
Mr. McCain, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Specter, Mr. Feingold,
Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Talent, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Jeffords, Mr.
Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Lieberman, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Stabenow,
Mr. Salazar, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Obama, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Santorum, Mr.
Sarbanes, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Craig, Ms.
Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Domenici, Mr.
Dorgan, Mr. Inouye, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Carper,
Mr. Graham, Mr. Burr, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Martinez, Mr.
Burns, Mr. DeWine, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Thune, Mr. Wyden,
Mr. Warner, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Sessions, Mr.
Bond, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Isakson, and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
June 13, 2005
Committee discharged; considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Apologizing to the victims of lynching and the descendants of those
victims for the failure of the Senate to enact anti-lynching
legislation.
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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