Remembering James Byrd Jr...

I encountered the news that was all over the place - Obama Signs Measure to Widen Hate Crimes Law.....
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics/july-dec09/hatecrime_10-28.html
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was included as part of a $680 billion defense spending authorization act, which President Obama signed at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House....I have seen tons of blogs, discussions, and pictures, all of Mathew Shepard.

There was another name on the bill. There is another name on the law.

James Byrd Jr.

James Byrd Jr. was murdered in 1998 in a racially motivated act of hate where he was brutally dragged to death behind a pick up truck by three white men with Klu Klux Klan connections. http://www.racematters.org/nytarchjb161.htm

Let us not forget another man who died a victim of a vile hate crime that same year as Mathew Shepard.

James Byrd Jr.'s death, once senseless, may now have a purpose far greater than perhaps anyone could ever hope for by being associated with this law...

....that such vile crimes might be prosecuted fairly. that perhaps someday they may be ended.

Don't forget James Byrd Jr.