Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill

[9] The first wave of lynchings occurred in the years immediately following the Civil War, but fell off sharply with the dissolution of the first Ku Klux Klan about 1870.

In 1900 Representative George Henry White, a black Republican from North Carolina, introduced the first anti-lynching bill in Congress.

Dyer was especially concerned about the continued high rate of lynchings in the South and the failure of local and state authorities to prosecute them.

Although the bill was quickly passed by a large majority in the House of Representatives, it was prevented from coming to a vote in 1922, 1923, and 1924 in the U.S. Senate, due to filibusters by the Southern Democratic bloc.

[14] Southern Senators opposed anti-lynching laws and other civil rights legislation on the ground that blacks were responsible for more crime, more babies born out of wedlock, more welfare and other forms of social assistance, and that strong measures were needed to keep them under control.

"[22] No bills were approved by the Senate during this time period because of the powerful opposition of the conservative Southern Democratic voting bloc.

[26] The Senate voted unanimously in favor of it on December 19, 2018,[27][28] but the bill died because it was not passed by the House before the 115th Congress ended on January 3, 2019.

[32] House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer criticized Paul's position, saying on Twitter that "it is shameful that one GOP Senator is standing in the way of seeing this bill become law".

Then-senator Kamala Harris added that "Senator Paul is now trying to weaken a bill that was already passed — there's no reason for this" while speaking to have the amendment defeated.

[33][34] A revised version of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, with the addition of a serious bodily injury standard, was introduced in the 117th Congress.