As a former drug and alcohol rehabilitation counselor, Cyndi Wunder is no stranger to dealing with trauma and crisis.
Neither are the residents of Jasper, Texas, where on June 7, 1998, James Byrd Jr. — a 49-year-old African-American — was dragged behind a pick-up truck to his death by three men who were subsequently convicted of his murder. One was later executed for the crime, which eventually led to the passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, named for Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr.