(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A local author who has written books on racial justice says a new federal hate crime law is important in several ways.
President Biden on Tuesday signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, which is named for the Black Chicago teen who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman.
The new law makes lynching a federal crime and expands the definition of “lynching” to any violent crime against people who are targeted because of their race.
Associate Professor Christopher Benson of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism said the measure sends a powerful message.
“The statement is: Not only is there going to be enhanced punishment if you commit a crime within the definition of this law, but it also says this is not the kind of thing that we’re ever going to tolerate again. Racial violence is something that we’re not going to tolerate ever again,” Benson said.
The measure was sponsored by Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush.
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