Antilynching Legislation keeps legacy of slain in forefront

Family Members of Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley said it was an honor to have the legislation named after Emmett Till. It continues the work his mother did to make sure his memory was preserved. Photos courtesy of Congressman Bobby Rush
Family Members of Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley said it was an honor to have the legislation named after Emmett Till. It continues the work his mother did to make sure his memory was preserved. Photos courtesy of Congressman Bobby Rush

Antilynching Legislation keeps legacy of slain in forefront

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Airicka Gordon-Taylor was emotional when she found out the Antilynching Legislation had been passed by the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

“It was emotional because the first thing we thought about was what Emmitt’s mother, Mamie Till, would think,” said Gordon-Taylor, who is the executive director of the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation.

HR 35, the Emmitt Till Antilynching Act, was introduced by Congressman Bobby Rush. It passed 410-4. It establishes a new criminal civil rights violation for lynching and

Gordon-Taylor and her mother, Ollie Gordon, are cousins of Mamie Till Mobley. She said she knew about the legislation a year ago, but learned more about it when Senator Corey Booker’s office reached out to her and explained the details to her. She said being around Senator Booker, Senator Kamala Harris and Congressman Rush, made it really hit home for her.

“I knew how long it had taken,” she said. “This has taken 120 years to happen.”

Antilynching legislation was first introduced by George Henry White, who was the only Black member of Congress at the time, in 1900. Since then, it had been introduced and failed 200 times. The lynching of Black men and women became a focus of educator, journalist and activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Wells-Barnett, abolitionist and suffragist, began her Anti-Lynching Campaign after three of her friends were lynched in Memphis in 1892.

“Being from Chicago, the death of Emmett Till sent shock waves through my community and personally affected me and my family. However, his death would not be in vain, for it was the spark that ignited the long arc of the civil rights movement, leading us to this very moment,” Rush said in a released statement. “With the passage of this bill, we correct a historical injustice, based on a lie, that took the life of this young man. We also bring justice to the over 4000 victims of lynching, most of them African-Americans, who have had their lives tragically, and horrifically cut short at the hands of racist mobs and hate-filled hordes. After 120 years, and 200 failed attempts, the House finally positions itself on the right side of history, outlawing the heinous act of lynching once and for all.”

In 2009, the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation was created to maintain the legacy of Mamie Till Mobley, who passed away in 2003, and preserve the memory of her son Emmitt Till, who was murdered in 1955 in Mississippi.

“When she opened Emmitt’s casket, she wanted the world to see what racism looked like. She had to share it with the world. Emmitt wasn’t the first nor the last,” Gordon-Taylor said. “She would be thrilled. Now maybe, perhaps other families can have justice.”

Gordon-Taylor said her family never received any type of judicial justice after Till’s death. It is her hope that HR 35 will change that for others. “This is just historic and amazing now that families have this bill to lean on, having justice for themselves.”

Gordon-Taylor said she and her mother are just overwhelmed emotionally. “It’s such an honor that they named it after Emmett Till. Mamie never wanted him to be forgotten,” she said. “This is just another iconic moment in history with Emmett’s name on it. What happened to him will never be forgotten".

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