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HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — An avowed racist who orchestrated one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history was executed Wednesday in Texas for the dragging death of a black man. John William King, who was white, received lethal injection for the slaying nearly 21 years ago of James Byrd Jr., who was chained […]

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JASPER, Texas (AP) — A technology company was almost ready to bring up to 300 new jobs to Jasper, Texas, but in the final stages of recent negotiations, a potential deal-breaker emerged: the community’s history as the place where three white men dragged a black man behind a pickup, killing him. The 1998 death of […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Jasper, Texas drew national attention in June of 1998 when James Byrd, a black man, was killed by three3 white supremacists. Byrd’s body was discovered by Rodney Pearson, who was the first black highway patrolman in Jasper. For a short while, the city was united, and they even tore down the segregated cemetery walls. Now, […]