Amy Bailey Comments on Anti-Lynching Legislation for The Washington Post
Posted: 2/21/2020 (CSDE in the News and CSDE Research)
120 years ago, Rep. George Henry White’s anti-lynching bill failed to pass through Congress. This week, lawmakers introduced another such bill that gives hope for anti-lynching legislation. CSDE Affiliate Amy Bailey provides her expertise on lynching and the history of racial violence in the U.S. for a recent Washington Post article on the new bill. In the article, Bailey explains how white lawmakers for decades used “state’s rights” as an excuse to avoid anti-lynching legislation. This aspect of U.S. policy “enables local and state jurisdictions to turn a blind eye to highly racially discriminatory practices and to a campaign of racial terror,” Bailey states.
Amy Bailey is a CSDE visiting affiliate whose research examines race and inequality. One of her areas of research focuses on historical patterns of racial violence in the American South, also known as lynching. You can read the full Washington Post article here or by clicking the link below.