LEWISTON – A film that documents the days following the dragging murder of a Texas man holds many lessons for Lewiston, according to organizers of an October conference.

The film, “The Two Towns of Jasper,” will be the centerpiece of a conference Oct. 3 and 4 at the Lewiston Armory.

“Basically, it talks about race relations,” said Many and One Coalition member Rachel Rodrigue. “The point of the conference, not just the movie, is to teach people how to have good racial relations.”

The film documents the murder of African-American James Byrd Jr. in June 1998. Byrd was dragged behind a pickup truck by two men in the town of Jasper, Texas. It also documents the reaction to his murder in the days and months afterward.

The two-day conference, being planned around the film, will include discussions about Lewiston’s ethnic history and current policies and the future of the city and the surrounding communities.

The conference is being paid for with a grant from the Ford Foundation to the National Coalition Building Institute and the National Conference for Community Justice. Lewiston’s Many and One Coalition is organizing the conference locally.

Rodrigue said organizers have room for 60 people at the conference. Those interested in attending should call 784-2380 or send an e-mail to organizer Diane Gilman at dgilman@gwi.net.

A public showing of the movie is also planned for October, but the date had not been scheduled.

staylor@sunjournal.com