|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|
|
GAY HISTORY: Matthew Shepard
2006-10-11
|
|
This article shared 5911 times since Wed Oct 11, 2006
|
|
When Aaron McKinney was awaiting sentencing for the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo., Shepard's father, Dennis, asked the court to spare McKinney the death penalty and instead impose a double life sentence without parole. The elder Shepard said in his statement to the court: 'Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives. May you have a long life, and may you thank Matthew every day for it.' In the same spirit of compassion, Dennis and Judy Shepard have become noteworthy allies of the LGBT community, rallying behind hate-crimes legislation across the country, and establishing the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which educates and informs the public on discrimination and on promoting diversity. The foundation also serves as the vehicle for Judy Shepard's public speaking program, which educates individuals about the development and elimination of hate speech and behavior. Her son has become an icon for the worldwide LGBT community and a symbol of how discrimination can undermine the very fabric that brings humanity together. Matthew Shepard cared about people, and strove for equal judgment and equality with everyone he met. According to his father, 'He didn't see size, race, intelligence, sex, religion or the hundred other things that people use to make choices about people. All he saw was the person.' Indeed, Shepard's story has inspired communities of all kinds, and along with his parents, several notable individuals have commended the youth's ideas and created numerous tributes to him. Melissa Etheridge wrote the song Scarecrow, a reference to the jogger who originally found the beaten Shepard tied to a fence, thinking the young man a scarecrow at first. Playwright Moises Kaufman wrote The Laramie Project, which has become a staple of American theater and which spawned an HBO movie. And MTV released the film Anatomy of a Hate Crime followed by 18 hours of dead air, a tribute to the time Shepard spent on the fence, suffering from brain trauma, head fractures and hypothermia. The image of the fair Shepard has become ingrained in gay history, and the tragedy of his promising life cut short by such brutality has inspired not just a nation but a world toward hope and tolerance.
— Jason Villemez
Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, will speak on her son's legacy on Mon., Oct. 16, at the Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress, at 7:30 p.m. Call 312-341-3510 or see www.roosevelt.edu .
|
|
|
|
This article shared 5911 times since Wed Oct 11, 2006
|
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
---|
|
| | Queer activism through photography: Exhibit spotlights a 'revolutionary' moment in Chicago history 2024-04-23 By Alec Karam - Artists hosted a panel at Dorothy, 2500 W. Chicago Ave., on April 20 to celebrate the debut of Images on Which to Build in Chicago, a snapshot of queer history from the '70s to the '90s. The exhibition, now at Chicago ...
|
| | Gerber/Hart Library and Archives holds third annual Spring Soiree benefit 2024-04-19 - Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Gerber/Hart) hosted the "Courage in Community: The Gerber/ Hart Spring Soiree" event April 18 at Sidetrack, marking the everyday and extraordinary intrepidness of the entire LGBTQ+ ...
|
| | Through a queer lens: Photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya discusses Chicago exhibition 2024-04-12 - Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a photographer whose works incorporate several elements, including history, literary modernism and queer collaboration. The art of Sepuyawho is also an associate professor in visual arts ...
|
| | Chicago History Museum announces "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s - 70s exhibition 2024-03-14 --From a press release - CHICAGO (March 14, 2024) ā The Chicago History Museum is thrilled to announce its upcoming exhibition, "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960sā70s." Set to open on Saturday, May 18, 2024, this exhibition is ...
|
| | Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians 2024-03-12 - Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...
|
| | SAVOR Eldridge Williams talks new concepts, Beyonce, making history 2024-03-08 - One restaurant would be enough for most people to handle. However, this year Eldridge Williams is opening two new conceptsincluding one that will be the first Black-owned country-and-western bar in the Midwest. Williams, an ally of ...
|
| | SAVOR Let's Talk Womxn's 'More Than March'; Adobo Grill's tequila dinner 2024-03-06 - I was fortunate enough to be invited to a culinary event that celebrates the achievement of womenand, fittingly, it happened during Women's History Month. On March 1, Let's Talk Womxn Chicago held its annual "More Than ...
|
| | Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap 2024-03-04 - Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...
|
| | Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican McConnell to step down from leading U.S. Senate 2024-02-29 - U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will step down from Senate leadership in November, having served in that capacity longer than any senator in history, The Advocate noted. McConnell has been a senator since 1985 and has ...
|
| | ELECTIONS 2024 Raymond Lopez talks congressional run, Chuy Garcia, migrant crisis 2024-02-26 - Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez has been a member of City Council since 2015, representing the 15th Ward and making history as one of the city's first LGBTQ+ Latine alderman. Now, he is setting his sights on ...
|
| | Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams's violin stylings help COH mark Black History Month 2024-02-23 - As part of its celebration of Black History Month, Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., presented a solo jazz performance by violinist Samuel Savoir-Faire Williams on Feb. 21. The two-hour long performance presented a showcase ...
|
| | SHOWBIZ Raven-Symone, women's sports, Wayne Brady, Jinkx Monsoon, British Vogue 2024-02-09 - In celebration of Black History Month, the LA LGBT Center announced that lesbian entertainer Raven-Symone will be presented with the Center's Bayard Rustin Award at its new event, Highly Favored, per a press release. She joins ...
|
| | On 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Mayor Brandon Johnson reaffirms commitment to reproductive rights 2024-01-22 --From a press release - CHICAGO — Today marks the 51st anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, which preserved the constitutional right to choose. Chicago has a long history of advocating for women's rights and is considered ...
|
| | Chicago Red Stars sign Mallory Swanson to historic contract 2024-01-16 - CHICAGO (January 16, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars have signed Mallory Swanson to a historic long-term contract, making it the most lucrative agreement in the history of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and seeing ...
|
| | Gay political trailblazer Ken Sherrill passes away at age 81 2023-12-30 - Kenneth Sherrilla pioneering political scientist who was also the first out gay elected official in New York historydied in early December at age 81 from surgical complications, Gay City News reported. He is survived by his ...
| |
|
|
|
|