James Byrd Jr. (May 2, 1949 – June 7, 1998) was an African American man who was murdered by three men, two of whom were avowed
white supremacists
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine o ...
, in
Jasper, Texas
Jasper is a Administrative divisions of Texas, city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, Jasper County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,884 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, down from 7,590 at the 2010 Un ...
, on June 7, 1998. Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King
dragged him for behind a Ford
pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...
along an asphalt road. Byrd, who remained conscious for much of his ordeal, was killed about halfway through the dragging when his body hit the edge of a
culvert
A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...
, severing his right arm and head. The murderers drove on for another before dumping his
torso
The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...
in front of a black cemetery.
Brewer and King were the first white men to be
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
for killing a black person in the history of modern Texas. In 2001, Byrd's
lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
-by-dragging led the state of Texas to pass a
hate crime
Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...
s law, which later led the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
to pass the
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. Brewer was executed by
lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
for his part in the murder on September 21, 2011.
King was executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...
, on April 24, 2019.
Berry was sentenced to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
and will be eligible for
parole
Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
in 2038.
Background
James Byrd Jr. was born on May 2, 1949, in
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
,
the third of nine children, to Stella Mae Sharp and James Byrd Sr. His mother was a Sunday School teacher and his father was a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
at the Greater New Bethel Church. Byrd graduated from Jasper Rowe High School in 1967, the last
segregated class. After graduating from high school, he married and had three children: Renee, Ross, and Jamie. Between 1969 and 1996, Byrd was incarcerated several times for various offenses, including theft, forgery, and violation of parole.
He worked as a vacuum salesman.
Byrd was a cousin of Dennetta Lyles King, who was
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...
's first wife and mother to his daughter Lora King.
Ross Byrd, the only son of Byrd, has been involved with "Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation", an organization that opposes
capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
. He campaigned to spare the lives of those who murdered his father and appeared briefly in the documentary ''Deadline''.
Murder
On June 7, 1998, Byrd, age 49, accepted a ride from Shawn Berry (age 23), Lawrence Brewer (age 31), and John King (age 23). Berry, who was driving, was acquainted with Byrd from around town. Instead of taking Byrd home, the three men took Byrd to a remote county road out of town, beat him severely, and chained him by his ankles to their pickup truck before dragging him for about on Huff Creek Road (County Road 278). Brewer later claimed that Byrd's throat had been slashed by Berry before he was dragged. However, forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up while being dragged, and an
autopsy
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...
suggested that Byrd was alive during much of the dragging. Byrd died about halfway along the route of his dragging, when his right arm and head were severed as his body hit a
culvert
A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...
.
[ While almost all of Byrd's ribs were fractured, his brain and skull were found intact, further suggesting that he maintained consciousness while he was being dragged.]
Berry, Brewer, and King dumped the mutilated remains of Byrd's body in front of an African-American cemetery on Huff Creek Road, then drove off to a barbecue.[ A motorist found Byrd's decapitated remains the following morning. Along the area where Byrd was dragged, police found a wrench with "Berry" written on it. They also found a lighter that was inscribed with "Possum", which was King's prison nickname.] The police found 81 places that included portions of Byrd's remains. Since Brewer and King were well-known white supremacists
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine o ...
, it was determined by state law enforcement officials that the murder was a hate crime
Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...
. They called upon the Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
less than 24 hours after the discovery of Byrd's remains. The special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston office said that they were assisting because of the case's "extreme circumstances".
Berry, Brewer, and King were tried and convicted for Byrd's murder. Brewer and King received the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, while Berry was sentenced to life in prison
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...
. Brewer was executed by lethal injection on September 21, 2011, and King was executed on April 24, 2019.
Perpetrators
Shawn Berry
During the trial of Shawn Allen Berry (born February 12, 1975), the prosecution conceded that he was not a white supremacist, but argued that he was just as responsible for Byrd's murder as the other men and suggested that he still might've been influenced by racism or perhaps been a thrill killer."Maybe some of what they were saying rubbed off on him. Maybe he was a thrill seeker... Maybe he wanted to play with a rattlesnake and see what happened."
Berry's attorneys had three black men who knew him testify that he was not a racist. Berry claimed that Brewer and King were almost entirely responsible for the crime. He said he tried to stop them from attacking Byrd until Brewer threatened to do the same to him. Brewer, however, testified that Berry had cut Byrd's throat before he was tied to the truck. The jury decided that minimal evidence supported this claim. Berry had also cooperated with the police and was the only perpetrator to show any remorse. As a result, Berry was sentenced to life in prison rather than death. , Berry was living in protective custody at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Ramsey Unit, and he will first be eligible for parole in June 2038, by that time, he will be 63 years old. He spends 23 hours per day in a cell measuring , with one hour for exercise. Berry married Christie Marcontell by proxy.
Lawrence Brewer
Lawrence Russell Brewer (March 13, 1967 – September 21, 2011) was a white supremacist who prior to Byrd's murder had served a prison sentence for drug possession and burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
. He was paroled in 1991. After violating his parole conditions in 1994, Brewer was returned to prison. According to his court testimony, he joined a white supremacist prison gang with King in order to safeguard himself from other inmates. Brewer and King became friends in the Beto Unit prison. A psychiatrist testified that Brewer did not appear repentant for his crimes. During the trial, the prosecution labeled him a racist psychopath. Brewer was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death. Brewer, TDCJ#999327, was on death row at the Polunsky Unit, but he was executed in the Huntsville Unit
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...
on September 21, 2011. The day before his execution, Brewer expressed no remorse for his crime, as he told KHOU 11 News in Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
: "As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets. No, I'd do it all over again, to tell you the truth."
Before his execution, Brewer ordered a large and extensive last meal
A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be.
Contemporary restrictions in the United States
Contrary to the common belief t ...
: two chicken fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra
Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...
with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread
White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour.
Nutrition
Wh ...
; three fully loaded fajita
A fajita (; ), in Tex-Mex cuisine, is strips of any grilled meat, optionally served with strips of peppers and onions usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. The term originally referred to skirt steak, the cut of beef first used in the di ...
s; a meat-lover's pizza; one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts on top; and three root beers. When the meal was presented, he told officials that he was not hungry and as a result he did not eat any of it. The meal was discarded, prompting State Senator John Whitmire
John Harris Whitmire (born August 13, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the List of mayors of Houston, 63rd mayor of Houston, Texas, since 2024. Whitmire was previously a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...
to ask Texas prison officials to end the 87-year-old tradition of giving last meals to condemned inmates. The prison agency's executive director responded by stating that the practice had been terminated effective immediately.
John King
John William "Bill" King (November 3, 1974 – April 24, 2019) was Berry's longtime friend. He was accused of beating Byrd with a bat and then dragging him behind a pickup truck until he died. King, who prior to the murder had recently been released from a Texas prison, said that he had been repeatedly gang raped in prison by black inmates. He was found guilty and sentenced to death for his role in Byrd's kidnapping and murder, and was on death row at the Polunsky Unit.
King had several racist tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
s: a black man hanging from a tree, Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
symbols, the words "Aryan
''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
Pride", and the patch for a gang of white supremacist inmates known as the Confederate Knights of America. In a jailhouse letter to Brewer that was intercepted by jail officials, King expressed pride in the crime and said that he realized while committing the murder that he might have to die. "Regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history. Death before dishonor. '' Sieg Heil!''" King wrote.[ An officer investigating the case also testified that witnesses said that King had referred to '']The Turner Diaries
''The Turner Diaries'' is a 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, the founder and chairman of National Alliance, an American white nationalist group, published under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald. It was initially syndicated in the National All ...
'' after beating Byrd.
On December 21, 2018, King's execution by lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the ...
was scheduled for April 24, 2019. On April 22, 2019, his appeals to both the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges.
Article V ...
and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles were denied. He was executed at the Huntsville Unit on April 24, 2019.
Reactions
Numerous aspects of the Byrd murder echo lynching traditions that were common in the post-Civil War south. These include mutilation
Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is Bodily harm, severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life.
In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alteratio ...
or decapitation
Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...
and revelry, such as a barbecue or a picnic, either during or after a lynching. Byrd's murder was strongly condemned by Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...
and the Martin Luther King Center as an act of vicious racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
. It also focused national attention on the prevalence of white supremacist
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
prison gang
A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system. It has a corporate entity and exists into perpetuity. Its membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Prison officials and ot ...
s.
Three sisters of Byrd are Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
, and in a joint statement said: "Having a loved one tortured and lynched produced an unimaginable sense of loss and pain. How does one respond to such a brutal act? Retaliation, hateful speech, or promotion of hate-ridden propaganda never entered our mind. We thought: 'What would Jesus have done? How would he have responded?' The answer was crystal clear. His message would have been one of peace and hope."
The victim's family created the James Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing after his death. Basketball star Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...
paid their funeral expenses and gave Byrd's family $25,000. Fight promoter Don King
Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups.
King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...
gave Byrd's children $100,000 to be put towards their educational expenses. On the 25th anniversary of Byrd's death, family members reflected in a 2023 interview for the ''Texas Tribune'' that fundraising for the foundation had become much harder as knowledge of Byrd's murder fades; one sister reflected that there was less awareness amongst the public of hatred in the community: "People don't want to fund it because they think there's no hate in the world", she was quoted as saying. A reporter visiting Jasper in 2018 noted that several residents denied Byrd's death had any relation to racism or hate crimes. Writing for the ''Pacific Standard
''Pacific Standard'', founded as ''Miller–McCune'', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was ...
'' magazine, John Savage said:
On October 7, 1998, an episode of ''Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' titled "DWB" (driving while black) referenced the murder within the plot. Instead of three white supremacists, however, the killers were three white New York City police officers. As the plot goes, the officers stop and arrest a black man for no reason, and then proceed to drag him to his death, after tying him to the car.
In 1999, the documentary ''Journey to a Hate Free Millennium'' was released, showcasing three United States hate crimes: the shootings at Columbine High School; the death of a gay student, Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on October 6, 1998. He was transported by rescuers to Poudre Valle ...
; and the murder of Byrd. The same year, the city of Jasper named a local park the "James Byrd Jr. Memorial Park" in his honor.
In 2003, a movie about the crime, titled ''Jasper, Texas
Jasper is a Administrative divisions of Texas, city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, Jasper County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,884 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, down from 7,590 at the 2010 Un ...
'', was produced and aired on Showtime. The same year, a documentary titled ''Two Towns of Jasper'', made by filmmakers Marco Williams and Whitney Dow, premiered on PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
's '' P.O.V.'' series.
While employed as a radio DJ at station WARW in Washington, DC, Doug Tracht (also known as the "Greaseman") made a derogatory comment referring to Byrd after playing Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...
's song " Doo Wop (That Thing)". The February 1999 incident proved catastrophic to Tracht's radio career, igniting protests from black and white listeners alike. He was quickly fired from WARW and lost his position as a volunteer deputy sheriff in Falls Church, Virginia
Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...
.
In May 2004, two white teens, Joshua Lee Talley and John Matthew Fowler, were arrested and charged with criminal mischief for desecrating Byrd's grave with racial slurs and profanities. According to a 2023 report in the ''Texas Tribune'', Byrd's grave has been desecrated on at least one other occasion; as a result of the desecrations, his family had a gated iron-railing enclosure placed around it.
Effect on US politics
Some advocacy groups, such as the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
National Voter Fund, made an issue of this case during George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's presidential campaign in 2000. They accused Bush of implicit racism, since as governor of Texas, he opposed hate-crime legislation. Bush, who also opposed federal hate crime laws after becoming president, insisted that "all crimes are hate crimes." Also, citing a prior commitment, Bush did not appear at Byrd's funeral. Because two of the three murderers were sentenced to death and the third murderer was sentenced to life in prison (all three of them were charged with and convicted of capital murder, the highest felony level in Texas), Governor Bush maintained, "we don't need ''tougher'' laws". The 77th Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act. With the signature of Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Rick Perry
James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...
, who inherited the balance of Bush's unexpired term, the act became Texas state law in 2001. In 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanded the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes which are motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender
Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
, sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
, gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...
, or disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...
.
Musical and poetry tributes
On the 2001 album '' Pieces of Me'' by singer-songwriter Lori McKenna
Lorraine McKenna ( Giroux; born December 22, 1968) is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit singl ...
, the song "Pink Sweater" is dedicated to Byrd; it condemns his murderers and references their death-penalty convictions with the raucous refrain, "I'll be the one in the pink sweater, dancing around when you're gone." In 2010, Alabama musician Matthew Mayfield wrote, recorded, and released a song in Byrd's honor. The tune, titled "Still Alive", is the fourth track on Mayfield's EP ''You're Not Home''. "Still Alive" clearly related a stark bitterness towards racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
and equated such hate crimes with genocide
Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
. "Tell Me Why", featuring Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
, mentions Byrd on Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
's fourth album, ''Lost and Found
A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property, lost articles th ...
''. Byrd's son Ross recorded the rap album ''Undeniable Resurrection'' and dedicated it to his father.
"Jasper", by Confrontation Camp
Confrontation Camp is an American rap rock group consisting of Kyle Jason and Public Enemy members Chuck D (under the name Mistachuck), Professor Griff and DJ Lord. The group's debut album, '' Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appea ...
, is the fifth track on the album '' Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear'' (2000). "Guitar Drag" by sound artist Christian Marclay
Christian Marclay (born January 11, 1955) is a visual artist and composer. He holds both American and Swiss nationality.
Marclay's work explores connections between sound art, noise music, photography, video art, film and digital animations. A p ...
is a video- and sound-installation about the murder of James Byrd, in which a guitar was hooked to the back of a truck and dragged down a road, producing feedback and noise. "I Heard 'Em Say" by Ryan Bingham
George Ryan Bingham (born March 31, 1981) is an American singer, actor, songwriter, and guitarist whose music spans multiple genres. He is currently based in Los Angeles. As of 2019, Bingham has released six studio albums and one live album, ...
is about Byrd's murder and the racially charged climate around Jasper following the crime (2012).
Byrd's murder is the subject of Lucille Clifton's poem "jasper texas 1998".
The Geto Boys
Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...
track "Eye 4 An Eye" from '' Da Good da Bad & da Ugly'' refers to Byrd's manner of death in its second verse.
The story of Byrd's murder, and that of Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on October 6, 1998. He was transported by rescuers to Poudre Valle ...
, are told in a verse of the song "Trouble the Waters" by Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981.
The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music inc ...
on their album '' Driving to Damascus'' (named '' John Wayne's Dream'' in its US release).
Byrd's murder is depicted in Nia DaCosta's 2021 film '' Candyman'', featuring him resurrected as one of the souls trapped in the Candyman "hive": in his Candyman form, with his skull exposed, Byrd uses the hook and cables involved in his murder to kill his murderers, ascending into legend. Depicted in the film's mid-credits scene
A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually i ...
in the form of shadow puppetry, Byrd's murder was previously featured in DaCosta's 2020 promotional short film of the same name. Before that, the murder had been depicted in the film '' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV'' which was filmed a year after the murder.
See also
References
Further reading
* Analysis of the 2020 murder of Michael Ronnell Williams in Iowa and the authorities' rejection of it as racially motivated. James Byrd Jr. was a cousin of Williams and his father, James Byrd-Williams Sr.
* Includes information about hate crime reporting and political attitudes
*
* Ainslie, Ricardo. ''Long Dark Road: Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas''. University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
Press, 2004.
* King, Joyce. ''Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas''. Pantheon, 2002.
* Temple-Raston, Dina. ''A Death in Texas: A Story of Race, Murder, and Small Town's Struggle for Redemption''. Henry Holt and Co., January 6, 2002.
External links
Remember His Name – From Hate To Healing: The Long Road Home
documentary in production by Lizard Productions
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* – television movie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd Jr., James
1998 in Texas
1998 murders in the United States
African-American history of Texas
Capital murder cases
Deaths by decapitation
Deaths by person in Texas
Jasper County, Texas
June 1998 crimes in the United States
Lynching deaths in Texas
Murders by motor vehicle
Neo-Nazism in the United States
Presidency of Bill Clinton
Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Texas
White nationalism in Texas