BENNETT ROTH, Houston Chronicle
Nearly a decade has passed since this small Southeast Texas town drew national scrutiny after James Byrd Jr. was dragged to his death by three white men motivated by racial hatred.
This week, around the corner from the courthouse where two of the three men were convicted, black and white residents were lining up to cast their early votes in a presidential election that some hope will signal a new era in race relations — in the Piney Woods of Texas and across America.
Joe Clyde Adams, a black member of the City Council, said Illinois Sen. Barack Obama had inspired many in this town of 8,000, almost equally divided between blacks and whites, to vote in the Texas contest that could propel him to the Democratic nomination.
