[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 17, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6500-S6501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            TEXAS HATE CRIME

 Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I want to offer my heartfelt 
condolences to the family and friends of James Byrd Jr., who was 
brutally murdered last week in Jasper, Texas. I am deeply saddened that 
we in this day and age still have this type of crime being committed in 
our nation.
  I am even more outraged that this monstrous crime is being copied 
across the nation, from Louisiana to my own home state of Illinois. 
Just this past weekend, the Belleville News-Democrat reported that a 
17-year-old from Belleville, Illinois, had to be rushed to the hospital 
after three youths grabbed him by his shirt and then dragged him until 
he fell under the wheels of their jeep. All the while they shouted 
racial epithets at him.
  This violence must be stopped. Unless we take swift action to end 
these atrocities, we run the risk of endangering all the progress we 
have made toward undoing the ugly legacy of racism. We must stop 
copycat acts of cowardice from undermining the basic freedoms that we 
all are entitled to enjoy.
  Every act of violence is reprehensible. Hate crimes are especially 
troubling, however, because they impact not only the victim, but the 
entire community. When a person is singled out and targeted for a hate 
crime, other members of that community feel isolated, vulnerable, and 
unprotected by the law. Hate crimes send a message to all members of a 
community that they are not free to walk the streets, to own property, 
or to enjoy their fundamental rights as Americans simply because of how 
they look or what they believe.
  But these crimes do not occur only on the back roads of our nation. 
In 1996, 6,768 crimes committed across the nation were motivated by 
racial bias; 1,497 by religious bias; 1,258 by sexual-orientation bias; 
and 1,179 by ethnic bias. 333 of these crimes occurred in my home state 
of Illinois. The City of Chicago reported 175 incidents, the lowest 
number since the City began keeping records. Unfortunately, the 
inhumane nature of last week's brutal murder only remind us that there 
still remains work to be done to fight the hate.
  Back in 1963, when a fire bomb at the 16th street Baptist Church took 
the lives of 4 children, the nation recoiled in horror at the cowardice 
and criminality of those who would resort to such violence. From that 
horror, however, grew a consensus that hate crimes are un-American, and 
must be exposed for what they are. The hood came off the hate.
  We have since redoubled our effort, and must redouble our resolve 
that never again will such crimes be ignored or overlooked or 
unpunished. We must continue to work together. This means educating one 
another, building coalitions with our neighbors, and standing together 
against racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry.
  The Administration is doing their part. In June of 1997, President 
Clinton announced One America in the 21st Century: The President's 
Initiative on Race. This Initiative has proven critical to initiating 
the dialogue on race in this country that is essential if we are ever 
to live as one.
  But we should do our part as well. I am a cosponsor of Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act, which was introduced by Senator Kennedy in November of 
last year. This bill would strengthen laws to protect Americans from 
hate crimes. We should act swiftly to pass this law,

[[Page S6501]]

and to send a message to the American people that hate crimes will not 
be tolerated.
  Again, I want to commend the people of Jasper, Texas for coming 
together in this time of tragedy and saying no to hate in their 
community. Their actions of reconciliation are an example for all of us 
to follow in times of moral crisis.

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