What an anti-lynching law means in 2022

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that classifies lynching as a federal hate crime, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Though Biden emphasized the significance of the legislation during a ceremony and praised its broad support, the bill’s path to approval has been fraught: It has taken more than 100 years and 200 attempts for proponents to achieve victory.

The Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, named after the 14-year-old boy who was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and shot by a mob of white men in Mississippi in 1955...