MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2005 3rd Extraordinary Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Simmons, Walls, Horhn, Jackson (11th), Butler, Thomas, Jordan, Frazier, Turner, Williamson, Harden
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION APOLOGIZING TO THE VICTIMS OF LYNCHING IN MISSISSIPPI AND THE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE VICTIMS.
WHEREAS, the crime of lynching succeeded slavery as the ultimate expression of racism in the United States and in the State of Mississippi following Reconstruction; and
WHEREAS, lynching was a widely acknowledged practice in the United States and in the State of Mississippi until the middle of the 20th Century; and
WHEREAS, lynching was a crime that occurred throughout the United States, with documented incidents in all but four states; and
WHEREAS, at least 4,742 people, predominantly African-Americans, were reported lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968; and
WHEREAS, ninety-nine percent of all perpetrators of lynching escaped from punishment by state or local officials; and
WHEREAS, lynching prompted African-Americans to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and prompted members of B'nai B'rith to found the Anti-Defamation League; and
WHEREAS, nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress during the first half of the 20th Century; and
WHEREAS, protection against lynching was the minimum and most basic of federal responsibilities, and the U.S. Senate considered but failed to enact anti-lynching legislation despite repeated requests by civil rights groups, Presidents and the House of Representatives to do so; and
WHEREAS, only by coming to terms with history can the United States effectively champion human rights abroad; and
WHEREAS, an apology offered in the spirit of true repentance moves the United States and the State of Mississippi toward reconciliation and may become central to a new understanding, on which improved racial relations can be forged:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That the State of Mississippi (a) apologizes to the victims of lynching in the State of Mississippi; (b) expresses the deepest sympathies and most solemn regrets of the Legislature to the descendants of victims of lynching, the ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human dignity, and the constitutional protections accorded all citizens of the United States; and (c) remembers the history of lynching, to ensure that these tragedies will be neither forgotten nor repeated.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House to the Governor of the State of Mississippi, to the Secretary of State for publication, be forwarded to members of the Mississippi congressional delegation and be made available to members of the Capitol Press Corps.