U.S. Rep. Crist comments on passage of Anti-lynching Act in House
February 26, 2020 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 35, the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, by a landslide vote of 410-4, which classifies lynching as a federal hate crime. The bill was named after Emmett Till, a 14 year old black child who was lynched in 1955 while visiting Mississippi, after he was falsely accused of harassing a white woman. U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) released a statement regarding the legislation. “Lynching is and has always been a hate crime," said Crist. "It’s past time that the federal code reflects the horrors that historically were inflicted on the African-American community. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘the time is always right to do what is right.’ Today I commend the People’s House for doing what’s right, and urge the Senate and President to take action.”