BY LAURA GARZA
JASPER, Texas - Hundreds of people, coming from small nearby towns and cities throughout eastern Texas, joined local residents here, filling the grounds of the Greater New Bethel Baptist Church June 13, for the funeral of James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old Black worker who was murdered a week earlier by racist thugs. The brutal killing has drawn national attention.

Three white men have been charged in the murder. The murderers beat Byrd, chained him by the ankles, and dragged him from the bumper of a pickup truck for about three miles, an act that ripped off parts of his body, which were left strewn along the way.

The church overflowed and most of the crowd stood outside in near-100-degree temperature. They included members of many local chapters of the NAACP, friends of the Byrd family, and individuals who just hopped in their cars to make the trip because they wanted to take a stand against the racist murder.

The funeral also drew a slew of local and national politicians including Jesse Jackson; Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles; Alfred Sharpton of New York; Houston mayor Lee Brown; and U.S. transportation secretary Rodney Slater, who read a message from President William Clinton.

The murder has sparked a debate on what it represents. Local sheriff William Rowles has repeatedly stated there is no problem with racism in Jasper, adding, "We have no organized KKK [Ku Klux Klan] or Aryan Brotherhood groups." Byrd's murder, he said, was an anomaly. But Black residents of this and surrounding towns disputed the rosy picture some capitalist politicians have tried to paint. They pointed to unequal treatment given to Blacks by cops and the lack of satisfactory action in the deaths of other Blacks in this area.

A Black paper mill worker and friend of Byrd's family said, "I don't think we need to be taking up arms." He was responding to the actions of a few members of the Dallas- based Black Panther Party, led by Khallid Muhammd. After the funeral the group paraded through town sporting guns, surrounded by dozens of cops. Some 200 extra cops were brought into town on the day of the funeral.

A white teacher attending the funeral expressed misgivings that the killing could give the wrong impression that racists had free rein in Jasper. "This is not Vidor," he said. Vidor is a town in eastern Texas with a reputation of being a racist white enclave, where a 1994 battle to desegregate public housing involved organized actions by the Ku Klux Klan. Jasper is about 40 percent Black. Many of those at the funeral said they were determined to see justice done and would be watching the trial carefully.

Politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties have argued that the matter should be left to the "justice system" and, with much talk of "healing and reconciliation," sought to discourage any protests. Texas governor George Bush put the blame for the killing on people with a bad "heart," stating that only religion, not government action, could change a person's heart.

State and federal officials have said they are seeking a way to make the charge a capital crime, for which the death penalty could be imposed. Some capitalist politicians have suggested expanding the vaguely worded laws against "hate crimes." The big-business papers have mostly described this as a "hate crime," avoiding the description of it as a racist killing.

Lea Sherman, the Socialist Workers candidate for U.S. Congress in the 29th district in Houston, expressed a different point of view. "The problem is the government has been doing things that send a signal that racist actions will be more tolerated, including eliminating affirmative action at the University of Texas, attacks on immigrant workers, and cuts in public education." The reason, she underlined, is that the government represents the rich, who benefit from racist discrimination and maintaining second- class status for Blacks.

"The labor movement should take the lead in defending affirmative action, demanding adequate funding for public education, supporting equal rights for immigrants, and fighting for a real raise in the minimum wage." Sherman said.

The socialist candidate voiced her campaign's opposition to the death penalty, which the Texas government has been using at an accelerated pace. "Executions will be used disproportionately against Blacks and other working people," Sherman stated.

Laura Garza is a member of International Association of Machinists Local 969 in Houston.  
 
 
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