Michelle Obama Says 'Historic' Anti-Lynching Law Will 'Make This Country Safer'

Paras Griffin/Getty Former First Lady Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is opening up about her emotional reaction to President Joe Biden signing a bill named after Emmett Till Tuesday, which officially made lynching a federal hate crime.

During a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden Tuesday, Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law. The legislation makes it possible to prosecute a crime as a lynching when a conspiracy to commit a hate crime results in death or serious bodily injury, according to Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush, who introduced the bill. It is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Obama spoke out about the historic moment on Wednesday, tweeting, "Yesterday, President Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act into law — finally designating lynching as a federal hate crime in the United States. For many Black folks, this historic moment comes with a lot of different emotions — I know it does for me."

"Antilynching legislation was first introduced over a century ago—and failed to pass over 200 times," the former first lady continued. "Now, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act is a chance to reckon with our history, and move in a new direction—one that makes this country safer and more just for us all."

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The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is named after Till, who was 14 years old when he was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and lynched in 1955 in Mississippi after being accused of whistling at and harassing a white woman.

Decades later, the woman recanted her claims. Till's death was a catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Rush introduced the bill in 2019 and named it after Till, who was from the representative's 1st District in Illinois. He said the legislation will finally outlaw "an American evil."

The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives in February 2020 but later blocked by the Senate that year. Earlier this month, the Senate unanimously passed the bill, sending it to Biden for signature.

RELATED: Senate Unanimously Passes Anti-Lynching Bill Named After Slain Black Teen Emmett Till

During Tuesday's signing ceremony, Biden said it's up to "all of us" to stop racial hate, detailing the violence Black Americans have experienced.

"Lynching was pure terror to enforce the lie that not everyone … belongs in America, not everyone is created equal," he said. "Terror, to systematically undermine hard-fought civil rights. Terror, not just in the dark of the night but in broad daylight. Innocent men, women and children hung by nooses in trees, bodies burned and drowned and castrated."

"Racial hate isn't an old problem. It's a persistent problem," Biden continued. "Hate never goes away, it only hides under the rocks. If it gets a little bit of oxygen, it comes roaring back out, screaming. What stops it? All of us."

Vice President Kamala Harris also added, "Racial acts of terror still occur in our nation. And when they do, we must all have the courage to name them and hold the perpetrators to account."