The murder of James Byrd Jr.

The murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas is a wake up call for all who believe that America is a colorblind society. Byrd, an African American, was brutally killed by three whites. The murder was racially motivated, which proves that white racism still exists in America.

White racism is synonymous with white supremacy. Such racism is not just individualistic, it is systemic. White supremacy describes the power differential between whites and people of color. Whites control the majority of wealth and resources in America and enjoy distinct privileges by virtue of their race. In the words of one white educator, "As we grow up, Whites become aware that we tend to have more than people of color, and we learn to accept and justify our own position" (Sleeter 6). The justification for white racism is based on presumed shortcomings of minorities, e.g, the culture of poverty. Therefore, even the most liberal-minded white person is capable of holding racist beliefs.

The white men accused of murdering James Byrd could hardly be termed liberals. The accused--Shawn Berry, James (Bill) King, and Lawrence Brewer--had all spent time in prison. In 1995, King was involved in a racial dispute between white and Hispanic prisoners, and recently intimated that he is affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist organization (Chua-Eoan 34). Both King and Berry have white supremacist tattoos on their bodies. Berry claims that while the beating of Byrd was taking

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erely. Berry alleges that he tried to stop the assault. By failing to forcefully intervene or simply leave the scene and contact the police, Berry sought to mitigate the degree of deviance between his beliefs and those of his extremist friends: "Many Whites who do not support racist beliefs, actions, or policies, but who also do not want to risk breaking bonds with other Whites, simply remain silent" (Sleeter 8). If white supremacist attitudes had not been pervasive in East Texas, Berry might have succeeded in preventing the murder of Byrd. Instead Berry realized that standing up for racial tolerance in this situation would lead to his ostracism, and loss of friendship and status in the white community. Berry's support of white racial bonding contributed to the savage murder of an innocent man. Critics of the racial motivation of the murder of Byrd point to the demographic composition of the town of Jasper. The population is almost evenly divided by blacks and whites. Jasper is a small town (population 7,500) where many families of both races have lived for generations. The town has a black mayor and a white sheriff. Nevertheless, racial incidents have occurred in the past, some of which have left festering emotional w

Category: Psychology - T