It was one of the ugliest aspects of American history: the lynching. White vigilantes taking the law into their own hands, acting as judge, jury and executioner. They tortured and killed African-Americans for such alleged 'crimes' as looking at a white woman or standing up for their rights. The deaths were usually violent as the victims were beaten, bound, shot and/or hung. The goal: to keep African-Americans so afraid for their safety that they would remain in a subservient role in society. Unfortunately, for years, the tactic was all too successful.
Now, the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution apologizing for its failure to act to prevent lynchings. The Senate resolution was sponsored by Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu and Virginia Republican George Allen.
The resolution apologized for the Senate's previous failure to pass anti-lynching legislation. Three times, the House of Representatives passed anti-lynching laws but southern filibusters prevented them from being passed in the Senate.
The confirmed number of lynchings between 1882 and 1968 was 4,700. The actual number may have been more than double that. They occurred in all but four states and not just in the south. The vast majority of the victims were African-Americans.
The resolution described lynchings as 'the ultimate expression of racism in the United States following Reconstruction.'
While it cannot bring back the victims of lynchings, the resolution is at least an acknowledgment of a past wrong and represents an admission of the failure to act. More must be done in the future to prevent similar resolutions from being made necessary.
