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Printer-Friendly ModeShepard shares story, works to stop hate
February 6, 2006 —
Preventing hate was the focus of Judy Shepard's speech, "Tragedy and the Consequences of Hate," on Wednesday in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts. The event drew a capacity crowd and was sponsored by several organizations including the Gay Straight Alliance and Student Association.
Shepard's son, Matthew, was a 21-year-old gay college student who was beaten and tied to a fence by two men in Laramie, Wyoming in Oct. 1998. He was found 18 hours after the attack and taken to a Colorado hospital, where he remained on life support before dying several days later. The murder drew national attention, raising hate crime awareness and serving as the backdrop for several movies, including the acclaimed 2002 documentary The Laramie Project.
Prior to the speech, a collage of anti-hate clips was shown that centered on the murder as well as the June 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr., a black man tied to a truck by three white men and dragged several miles. Following the clips, Shepard explained her reasons for speaking across the country.
"I'm not a professional speaker," she said. "I'm a mom with a story to tell."
Her story began with the reading of a statement she had prepared for the April 5, 1999 sentencing of one of her son's murderers, Russell Henderson. The statement detailed many moments, including her son's last days in the hospital and an admission that her son was so badly beaten that she was unsure it was him in the hospital bed.
Following the statement, Shepard's attention turned from the specifics of her son's murder to the larger issues of hate crimes and discrimination. She emphasized that "hate is not something that is going away" and that "we are all the same underneath ... we are not born hating." Shepard discussed doing away with ignorance and that things like discriminating jokes and insults can lead to much larger problems.
"Hate crimes," she said, "have only one motive."
In addition, Shepard discussed various political issues such as hate crime legislation and gay marriage. She said she is in favor of gay marriage but that churches have the right to deny it if that is what they believe.
However, she was quick to point out the separation of church and state and that states denying same sex marriage licenses are promoting legal discrimination. Shepard said she did not understand how it was fair that two strangers could get married in Las Vegas but two people who love each other cannot get married because they are of the same sex.
Shepard also discussed the importance of teaching children about diversity and that her own home state of Wyoming, where 96 percent of the population is white, was anything but diverse.
"It's hard to talk about diversity and teach diversity where there is none," she said.
Aaron Brown, president of GSA, was pleased with Shepard's speech.
"Overall, the event went really well," he said. "I'm very surprised and pleased at the turnout that we had. The GSA is not only a social organization but an organization for change."
Emily Hammerbacher, president of SA, agreed.
"SA was eager to sponsor something that would promote tolerance and open mindedness," she said. "We had heard Judy Shepard was a dynamic speaker and obviously many students were interested in hearing her perspective."
After the event, Shepard offered advice to students unfamiliar with diversity but who want to get to know new and different people.
"Join a student organization that you normally wouldn't join," she said. "If you're not gay, go to the Gay Straight Alliance and figure out what it is they do and what you can do to help. It's a matter of getting to know them and what they're trying to accomplish."
Shepard also discussed the overall challenges of speaking out against hate.
"All we can do is try," she said. "If we give up then we'll just never really know. We just have to keep trying. If we can change one person's mind, open one person's eyes and heart to think differently, then we've done something really great."