John Fredrick Parker
Donor
What if the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill passed in 1922?
(Note: never mind how it gets passed a fillibuster)
(Note: never mind how it gets passed a fillibuster)
A bunch of people get prosecuted, thrown in jail or fines or whatever...
... but I doubt a bill is going to magically end the root cause of lynching.
In 1922 law enforcement on the federal level is almost non-existent. The FBI doesn't exist yet, only a very small precursor, and it's few agents won't be armed until the mid-1930s.
A bunch of people get prosecuted, thrown in jail or fines or whatever, but I doubt a bill is going to magically end the root cause of lynching.
There's that too. Any enforcement of the law is going to have to rely on assets from outside the areas where lynchings take place. Sadly, in 1922 those assets do not yet exist.
Well, there is prohibition.
Speaking of which, could Harding, Coolidge, or another President get around this by, say, absorbing the Bureau of Prohibition into the FBI sooner, then having other agencies arm as well?
Well, if you can create an atmosphere...
I'm not sure what you're saying exactly...
Lynching is a civil rights issue, right? Think about the civil rights effort of the 1960s....
I doubt even that will happen. There's going to be almost no chance of enforcing the provisions of the bill.
In 1922 law enforcement on the federal level is almost non-existent. The FBI doesn't exist yet, only a very small precursor, and it's few agents won't be armed until the mid-1930s. Even state police organizations are rare. Any enforcement is going to rely on local law enforcement and they're the same ones who have been turning a blind eye towards these same murders all along.
There's that too. Any enforcement of the law is going to have to rely on assets from outside the areas where lynchings take place. Sadly, in 1922 those assets do not yet exist.
The point is...
My idea isn't that an anti-lynching bill end white supremacist violence in the south, so much as make a noticeable dent...