Judy Shepard
Ten years and hundreds of speeches later, Judy Shepard still cries when she talks about the brutal death of her son, Matt.
On Oct. 22, a roomful of UCSF students, faculty and staff cried with her as she related the circumstances surrounding the 21-year-old gay college student’s murder near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998. The crime sparked outrage around the world and led to the introduction of hate-crime legislation at the state and federal levels.
“All our hopes for Matt were killed,” Shepard said of her son’s death in a Colorado hospital five days after his two attackers tied him to a split-rail fence in a remote area, savagely beat him and left him to die.
“There is a hole in my life,” she said. “But I know Matt would be very disappointed in me if I gave up. He would be very disappointed in all of us if we gave up.”
Shepard certainly hasn’t given up: In the years since Matt’s death, she and her husband, Dennis, have become prominent advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, touring the country to educate people, speaking before Congress, and creating an online community and resource center for gay youths.
Her appearance at UCSF not only coincided with the anniversary of her son’s death, but also marked an important milestone in the history of the University’s LGBT Resource Center, which organized the event.
“It was 10 years ago that the center was founded, and it was 10 years ago that Matthew Shepard was killed because of bias, hate and ignorance,” said Shane Snowdon, the center’s director.
Shepard said it was against her naturally shy, introverted nature to get up in front of large groups of people.
“This is not who I am,” she told the UCSF crowd. “For me to be able to speak out in crowds, I have to think [Matt] is helping me do this.”
She said that when it comes to promoting equal rights and combating hate, she has seen signs of progress over the past decade.
Speaking of her home state of Wyoming, she noted the occurrence of an annual picnic sponsored by the local chapter of PFLAG – Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – as well as a Matthew Shepard memorial bench at the University of Wyoming, his alma mater.
“It may not seem like much to people here,” she said of the changes, “but it’s huge for Wyoming.”
However, Shepard said, there is much work left to be done. She urged the audience to educate themselves about Proposition 8, the measure on California’s Nov. 4 ballot that would outlaw gay marriage.
“This is about protection for everybody,” she said of the measure, which she opposes. “This is about all people.”
Shepard described herself as “an ally” of the gay community, but acknowledged that she lacks a true insider’s perspective on the LGBT community and its struggles.
“I don’t need to understand everything to know what’s right and wrong,” she said to loud applause. “You are who you are and you love who you love, and that’s just the way it is.”
One of many diversity-related events at UCSF this month, Shepard’s talk, which was held at the Parnassus campus and simulcast to UCSF Mission Bay, was co-sponsored by the UCSF Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on GLBT Issues, LGBT Student Association, LGBT Staff Group, Cultural Enrichment Fund, Associated Students of UCSF, Graduate Students’ Association, Diversity Celebration Committee, Center for Gender Equity and Student Activity Center.
