lynching

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Lawmaker Withdraws 'Hanging' Suggestion

No colleagues objected to Tennessee Republican's capital punishment comment when he made it

(Newser) - A Tennessee Republican lawmaker on Thursday apologized after asking earlier this week if "hanging by a tree" could be added to the state's execution methods, a comment that has shocked Black lawmakers who point to the state's horrific history of lynching. Rep. Paul Sherrell, who is white,...

Emmett Till Takes His Place in Greenwood
City Unveils
Emmett Till
Statue
Oct 22, 2022 3:00 PM CDT

City Unveils Emmett Till Statue

Applause, tears greet tribute to 1955 Mississippi lynching victim

(Newser) - Hundreds of people applauded—and some wiped away tears—as a Mississippi community unveiled a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till on Friday, not far from where white men kidnapped and killed the Black teenager over accusations he had flirted with a white woman in a country store. "Change has...

Rand Paul Challenger Wears Noose in New Ad
Rand Paul
Rival Has Most
Controversial
Ad of 2022
the rundown
Jun 3, 2022 9:40 AM CDT

Rand Paul Rival Has Most Controversial Ad of 2022

Charles Booker wears a noose to criticize Kentucky Senate incumbent

(Newser) - It's a political ad that begins with a content warning. And the reason soon becomes clear in the controversial spot unveiled this week by Rand Paul challenger Charles Booker in Kentucky. Booker, who is Black, wears a noose and describes Paul as "the person who singlehandedly blocked an...

After 200 Attempts, US Has a Federal Anti-Lynching Law

'Lynching was pure terror,' President Biden says

(Newser) - Update: After almost 200 attempts over 120 years, the US has passed a law making lynching a federal hate crime. President Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act at a White House event with guests including Rev. Wheeler Parker, a cousin of Till's who witnessed the teenager's kidnapping...

1922 Death Certificate Changed From 'Suicide' to 'Murder'

Coroner says it was an honor to correct injustice in lynching case

(Newser) - George Tompkins was murdered in Indiana in 1922 but for a century, official records stated that the Black teenager died by suicide—despite the fact that he was found hanged with his hands tied behind his back. The 19-year-old lynching victim was hanged from a tree in an Indianapolis park...

Emmett Till's Family Is Told the Investigation Has Ended
Emmett Till's Relatives:
Reopen the Case
UPDATED
Mar 11, 2022 1:38 PM CST

Emmett Till's Relatives: Reopen the Case

Federal officials closed the investigation last year

(Newser) - Update: Relatives of Emmett Till joined with supporters Friday in asking federal authorities to reverse their decision to close an investigation of his 1955 lynching and instead prosecute a white woman at the center of the case from the very beginning. Relatives said they would present Mississippi authorities with a...

He Was Accused of Blasphemy. Then the Mob Descended

Dozens arrested after man stoned to death for allegedly burning Koran in Pakistan

(Newser) - Dozens of men have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province after a man accused of blasphemy was stoned to death there over the weekend by an enraged mob. The BBC reports the lynching took place on Saturday evening in Tulamba, located in the district of Khanewal. Police spokesman Munawar...

'It's Like Looking at Someone Who Got Hunted Down'

Family of Peter Spencer calling Black man's death a 'modern-day lynching'

(Newser) - Family members of a Black man killed hours after he arrived at a rural Pennsylvania cabin he had been invited to by a white coworker are calling his death "a modern-day lynching." The body of 29-year-old father-to-be Peter Bernardo Spencer was found on the lawn of the cabin...

He Says He Was Nearly Lynched. Now He's Been Charged

Black activist Vauhxx Booker hit with assault, trespassing charges a year after Indiana incident

(Newser) - Last summer, a Black Indiana activist says he was attacked by a group of white men and nearly lynched (he claims a noose was mentioned) as he walked with a friend to a park, and the video showing the incident went viral. Two men, Sean Purdy and Jerry Cox II,...

34 Victims of Racial Lynching Are Pardoned in Maryland

Cases date to between 1854 and 1933

(Newser) - Maryland's governor on Saturday posthumously pardoned 34 victims of racial lynching in the state dating between 1854 and 1933, saying they were denied legal due process against the allegations they faced. It was a first-of-its-kind pardon by a governor of a US state. Gov. Larry Hogan signed the order...

Calif. Gold Rush Town Gets Around to Taking Noose Off Logo

Placerville has long been known as 'Hangtown'

(Newser) - The California Gold Rush town of Placerville will change its logo to remove a noose that stems from its mid-19th century reputation as “Hangtown” following lynchings of criminal suspects by mobs of miners, the AP reports. The City Council voted Tuesday night to remove the noose after listening to...

Michigan Lawmaker Threatened With Lynching Over Election

Cynthia Johnson posts threatening voicemails she's received

(Newser) - A Black lawmaker in Michigan is publicizing frightening voicemails she's received as President Trump's team fights for her state to award him its electoral votes, despite the fact that Joe Biden won the state. Cynthia Johnson, a Democrat representing Detroit in the state legislature, is the minority vice...

'I Think They Always Knew': A Lynching Is Revived, 34 Years Later

Timothy Coggins was dragged to his death in 1983. But where was justice?

(Newser) - Timothy Coggins was said to be funny and exuberant, with a captivating smile. Tragically, the young Black man was lynched in October 1983—a crime that went unsolved until law enforcement took up the cold case and showed it to a jury 34 years later, GQ reports. "I think...

Black Man at Lake: 5 Men Yelled 'White Power,' Beat Me

Alleged near-lynching of black man in Indiana partially caught on video; no arrests yet made

(Newser) - The FBI is monitoring the case of a black man who says he was the victim of an attempted lynching in Indiana on July 4. Vauhxx Booker described an encounter with people who yelled "white power" in a Sunday Facebook post , which was accompanied by a video showing him...

Jimmy John's Fires Everyone Connected to Noose Video

Employees terminated after white workers appear to mock a lynching

(Newser) - Jimmy John's wasted no time terminating everyone who was involved in a noose video that went viral. The video, filmed at one of the sandwich chain's Georgia locations, showed white employees placing a noose made out of bread dough around the neck of a white worker, in an...

Before Hanging Death, His Girlfriend Made Angry Threat

Malcolm Harsch's family say he did in fact kill himself

(Newser) - A black man whose hanging death roused the ire of activists did indeed die by suicide, the New York Times reports. A family spokesman says video of Malcolm Harsch, 38, taking his life in Victorville, Calif., last month confirmed he hadn't been lynched. Sheriff's officials reinforced that by...

Study Reveals Horrific Toll of Lynching During Reconstruction

White mobs lynched more than 2K black Americans in 12 years

(Newser) - In the South, the Civil War was followed by 12 bloody years in which black Americans' hopes of taking part in democracy were brutally crushed, according to a new report from the Equal Justice Initiative . The report documents more than 2,000 lynchings during the Reconstruction period and estimates that...

Cops Say They Hanged Themselves. Their Families Disagree

Robert Fuller, Malcolm Harsch found hanged from trees in S. California, and families want answers

(Newser) - Cops say two black men found hanged from trees in two separate incidents in Southern California took their own lives, but their families are pushing back on that, insisting neither one would've ended their lives that way. The New York Times reports that the body of 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch,...

Rand Paul Rankles 2 Black Senators on Anti-Lynching Bill

Kamala Harris, Cory Booker push back on his amendment to weaken legislation

(Newser) - The House and the Senate were this close to agreeing on bipartisan legislation to finally make lynching a federal hate crime—until Rand Paul decided the bill, which could lead to life in prison for violators, couldn't fly as-is. In what CNN reports was an "emotional debate" on...

After Nearly 200 Attempts, Congress Makes Lynching a Federal Crime

65 years after the death of Emmett Till, 14

(Newser) - Sixty-five years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, the House has approved legislation designating lynching as a hate crime under federal law, the AP reports. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, introduced by Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush, comes 120 years after Congress first considered anti-lynching legislation and after dozens...

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