Joe Biden Signs Bill Making Lynching A Federal Hate Crime For First Time In U.S. History

Anyone convicted could face upwards of 30 years in prison for their crimes.

BYHayley Hynes
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

It's been decades since the tragic death of Emmett Till took place at the hands of a group of white men. Earlier today (March 29th), President Joe Biden made moves to rectify the infamous murder by signing the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, which officially makes lynching a federal hate crime for the first time in U.S. history.

As HuffPost notes, a crime can now "be prosecuted as lynching when death or serious bodily injury results from a conspiracy to commit a hate crime." Anyone convicted could reportedly face upwards of 30 years in prison for their crimes.

Joe Biden Signs Bill Making Lynching A Federal Hate Crime For First Time In U.S. History
Pool/Getty Images

Earlier this afternoon, POTUS tweeted, "This afternoon, I'm signing the long-overdue Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law – making lynching a federal hate crime."

"Living up to our founding principles as a nation means coming to terms with the sins of our past. Today, we take another step toward that more perfect union," he concluded.

Till's cousin, Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. was with him at the time of his death, and also happened to attend Biden's Tuesday signing. In a statement, he shared that his family "was devastated that no one was held responsible for the abduction, torture, and murder of Emmett."


It's been noted that lawmakers have spent the last century trying to pass nearly 200 anti-lynching bills, but didn't find success until today. "We are heartened by this new law," Parker Jr.'s statement went on.

"Which shows that Emmett still speaks in powerful ways to make sure that no one can get away with a racist crime like this ever again."

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.