On Monday, the House overwhelmingly passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which would designate lynching as a federal hate crime.
NBC News reported the House passed it with a 422-3 vote.
The only three people who voted against the legislation were Republican Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky; and Chip Roy of Texas.
"By passing my Emmett Till Antilynching Act, the House has sent a resounding message that our nation is finally reckoning with one of the darkest and most horrific periods of our history, and that we are morally and legally committed to changing course," said the bill's sponsor Rep. Bobby Rush in a statement.
The bill is named after the 14-year-old Black teen who was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi. His death is what many consider the event that touched off the civil rights movement, USA Today reported.
The New York Times reported that the bill is expected to pass in the Senate.
According to the the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the U.S. between 1882 to 1968, the most occurring in Mississippi.
