items of interest

with contributions from Martha Beck, Joyce King, Csar G. Soriano, Name removed by request, Martha Sawyer Allen

"In 1999, my life changed when I covered the three trials of the men accused in the dragging murder of James Byrd, Jr., an agonizing assignment that consumed more than a year of my life. I had wanted nothing to do with Jasper, Texas, and the horrors of racism—a subject with which I was already more than familiar. Then I stood on the logging road where Byrd [was murdered].... I have never been more terrorized in my life than on that day watching the sun set on Huff Creek Road. The deadly power of hatred got my undivided attention. Somehow, I had to make a difference by telling the story.

"Walking the route where Byrd was dragged for three miles, I realized that if I didn't overcome the anger festering in my own heart, it would escalate to a level that would have made inner peace and forgiveness impossible....

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