Ugly American History – The Filibuster and Lynching

An ugly chapter of American history was discussed today on NPR’s Morning Edition. They told of the lynching of thousands of blacks, a practice that continued well into the 20th century, and the Senate’s decades-long resistance to anti-lynching legislation. USA Today reported that Senate Resolution 39,

approved by voice vote, “expresses the deepest sympathies and most solemn regret of the Senate to the descendants of the victims of lynchings, the ancestors of whom were deprived of life, human dignity and the constitutional protections accorded to all citizens of the United States.”

It is truly amazing that these kinds of behavior was tolerated so long – lynching and filibustering. How Americans could justify this lynching is beyond me (but so is abortion, but that is another (though similar) story). And how the leaders of our country, the Senate of the United States of America, could live with themselves by allowing a filibuster to prevent them from doing the right thing.

I do not want to detract from the horror that was lynching – but it amazed me as I heard these stories that the media seemed to do everything in it’s power to avoid the most obvious of links. No, I do not mean that it was Democrats who were the ones who opposed the anti-lynching legislation. But that if there is an argument for why the filibuster should be banned this is it. Why were a handful of Senators allowed to hold this legislation hostage? I understand the filibuster has a long history and is not unconstitutional – but its long history is tainted with outrages like slavery and lynching and banning it would not be unconstitutional – it would be the right thing to do.

According to the sponsor of the bill, Senator Mary Landrieu:

The historic apology, S. Res. 39, was first proposed by Senators Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and George Allen, R-Va., who were motivated after reading the book “Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America,” a pictorial history of lynching in America by James Allen.

”It’s important that we are honest with ourselves and that we tell the truth about what happened,” Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said before the Senate by voice vote approved an apology for blocking anti-lynching legislation at a time when mob violence against blacks was commonplace. At least 80 senators signed on as co-sponsors.

According to the Associated Press:

… 4,743 people killed by mob violence between 1882 and 1968, according to Tuskegee University records. Of those, nearly three-fourths, 3,446, were blacks. Lynchings reached a peak of 230 in 1892, but they were prevalent well into the 1930s. Twenty lynchings were reported in 1935.

During that time, nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress, and three passed the House. Seven presidents between 1890 and 1952 petitioned Congress to pass a federal law.

But the Senate, with Southern conservatives wielding their filibuster powers, refused to act. With the enactment of civil rights laws in the 1960s and changes in national attitudes, the issue faded away.