Author relates experience
of Jasper dragging death
Chris Forbes
and Rita Langston
reporters

Covering a hate crime in a small Texas town turned into more than a regular assignment for a NE speaker.
Joyce King, former CBS Radio news anchor/reporter and author of Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas, discussed her experience reporting about the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., who was killed by three white men because he was black.
At the time of the dragging, King said she had just lost the job she had at CBS for nine years and had taken a job with another station.
During her first week on the new job, King was assigned to go to Jasper.
“I didn’t want to go because I was an anchor with a chip on my shoulder,” she said.
King said she thought Jasper would be full of Klan activities, full of racism and full of hate. She had imagined a return to the attitudes of the ’50s.
“It was a peaceful-looking little town, and I was surprised this is where it happened.”
The first thing she did on arriving in Jasper was to visit the road where the murder occurred. She decided to walk the full three miles Byrd was dragged.
“I wanted to see how it happened, and I wanted to see how far three miles was,” she said.
King described her three-mile walk along the crime scene where Byrd was dragged to his death. Although it was getting dark, she could still see evidence circles left by the investigating officers.
“I was looking history in the face,” she said.
King saw where Byrd’s wallet lay, where his watch had fallen and where his head fell off. She said she started to cry.
“It was heart-breaking,” she said.
During her assignment in Jasper, King met the local sheriff. The author said she first considered him a stereotypical Southern sheriff.
“I thought no way justice will be done adequately here,” she said.
King changed her mind. The two became friends because she realized they both wanted justice.
King said the assignment became more than a news story and turned into a way to bring awareness of hateful crimes committed on another human being.
Because, of her experiences, King said she decided to write a book about the Jasper incident.
“[I wanted] to tell the truth about what happened,” she said.
To research her book, King moved to Jasper for a month to get to know the town and its people. She said she hated the town in the beginning, but she wanted to share with everyone.
“We like to say other people have stereotypes about black people, but we don’t like to admit that as black people we have stereotypes about other people too.”
King learned that the people in Jasper worked hard and were compassionate, calling them a “model for justice.”
“Blacks and whites are a marriage arranged by God, and neither one can get a divorce so we ought to stop trying,” she said. “We have far to go, and we shall go—together.”
After the experience in Jasper was over, King said she had a new perspective on life. And, she said, she gained an understanding that led to healing and respect.
“This was a therapeutic experience,” she said.
King has toured the country since the book was published, appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s television show. Everywhere she went, King said she made a point of defending Jasper and Texas because everyone believes the town and state are racist.
“Remember, three people dragged James Byrd to death—not 8,000 [town’s population],” she said.