Brutal Hate Crime in Jasper, Texas, Remembered at Events in Texas and California

2008-05-21 23:46:42 -

- Ten years ago, James Byrd Jr. was chained to a truck and dragged three miles to his death by three white supremacists in the outskirts of Jasper, Texas. To mark the 10th anniversary of his death, Byrd family members will participate in three national tributes: the first in Houston, Texas, on June 2; the second, in Jasper, Texas, on June 7; and the third, in San Francisco, California, on June 22.

The Houston event will be at 7 p.m. June 2 at the Cullen Oaks Community Center, 4600 Cullen Blvd. The event, titled "Nooses, A History of Lynching, From Trees to Trucks," will honor Byrd's memory. The event is sponsored by the award-winning Center for Healing Racism in partnership with the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing, the family of James Byrd Jr. and the James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project, a project of the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing.

Speakers include Cherry Steinwender, the Co-Director of the Center for Healing Racism; Clara Byrd Taylor, President of the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing (and sister of James Byrd Jr.); Michael Ingram, Center for Healing Racism; and Lani Silver, Director of the James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project. Musician Jimmie Moore will perform at the program, which is free and open to the public.

The Jasper event will be on June 7, exactly ten years after Byrd was murdered. The Byrd Foundation For Racial Healing will sponsor a program titled "Make a Difference," at 10 a.m. at the James Byrd Jr. Memorial Park.

Keynote comments will be delivered by John Stevens, the U.S. attorney who served at the murder trials. Byrd's parents, Stella and James Byrd, will receive a plaque. Walter Diggles, the executive director of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments will discuss the educational programs being sponsored by the Byrd Foundation For Racial Healing. A local choir will sing and young children will perform a skit. The winner of the Byrd Scholarship will read her essay on the effect racism has had on her life.

The San Francisco event will be at 2 p.m. June 22, at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave. At "The 10th Anniversary Tribute to James Byrd Jr.: Working Together to Reduce Racism," Byrd family members will be present. More than a dozen well-known Bay Area celebrities, authors, politicians and civic leaders will deliver short tributes to Byrd and his family and lead the audience in a discussion about how the community can combat racism and hate crimes. Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir will perform, as will music legend Bill Spooner.

Tickets are available for $10, $20 and $35 at City Box Office (415-392-4400 or www.cityboxoffice.com).

The tribute is being organized by the San Francisco-based James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project, a project of the Houston-based Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing. The project will honor the memory of James Byrd Jr. and welcome his family from Texas. Since its inception seven years ago, the project has conducted approximately 2,600 oral histories on the topic of racism in America. Project director Lani Silver suggests that by sharing our experiences with racism, we can reduce it. Silver says the tribute will acknowledge how far we have come and how far we have to go.

Note:

Two more events in Texas will remember Byrd's life and death. On June 5, the Anti-Defamation League of Houston hosts a press conference and on June 6 Byrd sister Mylinda Washington will speak at the Anti-Defamation League's national executive meeting in Bastrop, Texas. A remembrance service is being planned. More information about these events is available by calling 713-627-3490. -0- For more information: Center for Healing Racism (in Houston) Mike Ingram, 713-520-8226 Cherry Steinwender, Co-Director, Center for Healing Racism, cfhr1@juno.com, www.centerhealingracism.org Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing Clara Byrd Taylor, President, 888-656-6414, byrdfound@juno.com James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project Lani Silver, director, 415-485-4208, byrdproject@aol.com Photographs Available upon Request

James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project
Laurie Huff, 925-943-6388
huff.laurie@gmail.com
Lani Silver, 415-485-4208
byrdproject@aol.com