The Murder of James Byrd Jr.

In June of 1998, a sadistic murder of a middle-aged black man from Jasper, Texas, rekindled memories of lynching practices from the blood stained American past. James Byrd, Jr., 49, was beaten savagely to the point of unconsciousness, chained to the back of a pickup truck by his neck, and dragged for miles over rural roads outside the town of Jasper. It is believed that Byrd survived through most of this experience, that is, until he was decapitated. Three white men, John William King, 23, Shawn Berry, 23, (both of whom had links to white supremacist groups) and Lawrence Brewer Jr., 31, were arrested. Brewer and King were sentenced to death for a racial hate crime that shocked the nation. Berry was sent to prison for life.

In order to understand the reasons why crimes like this still exist in America one needs only to look closer at the city of Jasper, itself. This lynching is a product of a broader social environment. East Texas was a center of Ku Klux Klan activity during the heyday of lynching from 1889 to 1918 (McLaughlin 2). The KKK was believed to still be active in the community as recently as 1994, which was also evident in Vidor, Texas, when Klan members staged arm patrols in an effort to prevent the integration of a housing project (McLaughlin 2).

In addition, it is important to understand that government officials continue to contribute to the racist mentality by not recognizing its existence. Former Texas Governor, George W. Bush, declined an invitation to come to Jasper personally to show his outrage over the racial killing (McLaughlin 2). His unwillingness to attend a rally in memory of James Byrd, Jr. further outraged the African American and Mexican American citizens of Jasper. In addition to a presence of racist organizations and blind public officials, Jasper is also stricken with poverty and ignorance. The number of college graduates, 1,649, is amazingly exceeded by the number of high school dropouts, 2,816, in a town of 8,400. The unemployment rate is well above the national average and the median household income is $20, 451. Twenty percent of Jasper’s residents live in poverty. Martin McLaughlin writes:

These figures suggest the social context in which the murder of James Byrd took place. The conditions in Jasper County are the worst for younger sections of the working class, especially those who are high school dropouts, sinking into a life of petty crime, drunkenness or drug addition. (McLaughlin 3)

These social tensions might help to explain the ignorant, racist mentality that persists in rural Texas, but they in no way justify it.

Works Cited

Martin McLaughlin 13, June 1998 from an article entitled “Racial violence and the social forces in America that fuel it”

found at www.wsws.org/news/1998/byrd-j13.shtml