If losing a child is the worst thing a parent can experience, then the way Judy Shepard lost her son had to be even more excruciating, if that is possible. Her son, of course, is former University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who, in 1998, was brutally attacked by three men and left to die—because of his sexual orientation.
Matthew's death spawned an outpouring of grief. However, it also led to a global awareness of anti-gay hate crimes as well as the formation of organizations such as The Matthew Shepard Foundation, which was started by Judy and Dennis Shepard, Matthew's parents.
Judy Shepard will appear at Roosevelt University on Oct. 16 to speak about her son as well as the foundation and various programs. She briefly took time out from her exhausting tour to talk with Windy City Times about what the foundation is doing—as well as about Matthew.
Windy City Times: First of all, I understand that you're promoting a 'Get out the Vote' public service announcement. Can you tell me a bit about it?
Judy Shepard: Sure. For the eighth-anniversary week this year—since it's an important election year ( that is quite contentious ) —and knowing Matthew's passions for politics and being part of the process, we thought it was natural to do something to encourage the LGBT community and their family to vote. So, we put this powerful campaign together to let people know that every vote counts.
WCT: And there are five tasks that you want everyone to do: register, learn the issues, volunteer, vote and hold elected officials accountable. It might be pretty obvious to some, but why [ the last one ] ?
JS: Whether we get the officials we were hoping for or not, we need to make sure that they know how we feel. They work for us; we don't work for them—I think that sometimes gets lost in the mix. And the united LGBT community has to realize that it's a voting bloc and that it has some power at the voting booth.
Also, people can purchase buttons that look like political buttons [ as well as 'Erase Hate' wristbands ] at the Matthew Shepard Foundation Web site.
WCT: Now would Matthew have actually said 'If you don't vote, you can't bitch?' [ In an op-ed piece for The Advocate, Judy stated that Matthew would remind people that way. ]
JS: [ Laughs. ] Ah, no—that's what I say. However, he totally understood how important it was to vote. When he would change locations, he would immediately find out where to vote and would take an interest.
WCT: Now, in December, there's going to be a Laramie Project program. Could you talk about that?
JS: We're going to present Moises [ Kaufman ] and the Tectonic Theater Project with the Making a Difference award to honor their work with The Laramie Project, which is going into its 5,000th production—not performance, [ but ] production. It's been translated into many languages around the world. It's the most honest and consistent depiction of what happened in Laramie after Matthew was murdered; it's a great educational tool.
WCT: What does it mean to have 5,000 productions of that? That's hard to comprehend.
JS: [ Laughs. ] It's pretty amazing. I can't go anyplace where it hasn't just been completed, it's just started or they've just completed casting.
WCT: Regarding the Matthew Shepard Foundation, I noticed that there are now Point Scholars.
JS: Yeah. We became involved with The Point Foundation this year and have three people who were given scholarships in Matthew's name. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.
WCT: [ In the aforementioned op-ed piece, ] you also wrote that, after Matthew's death that the family could have withdrawn into 'some semblance of privacy and try to resume as normal a life as possible.' Why didn't you?
JS: Well, Dennis [ Judy's husband ] and I went back for about a week and decided that we owed Matt and his community the use of our ( and Matthew's ) voices. We figured we had this small window of opportunity where people would remember what happened to Matt, maybe know who we were and would listen to what we had to say. As parents and straight people who had lost our son to anti-gay hate, we thought we could make an impact where others could not. Of course, we had no idea that it would be eight years later and we'd still be doing this.
It's quite encouraging that colleges and people are still moved by what happened to Matt and that they still want to make a change. I think it's wonderful.
WCT: It sounds like it could be a lifelong endeavor.
JS: It could be—and I hope the foundation just continues on until it's not needed.
WCT: What do you want people to remember about Matthew?
JS: I find that one of the most disturbing things is that people try to make him something that he was not. He was not a martyr. He was not perfect. He made mistakes. He was living the life of a 21-year-old college student when he was taken. He loved life, who believed in the system and who wanted things to be right for everyone. There wasn't anything about him that was different from anyone else. He was a young man who died and brought to people's attention that anti-gay sentiment exists.
WCT: From the time you first heard about Matthew's death in 1998 to now, what's the biggest change you've seen in yourself?
JS: Well, at the college I was at last night I was asked about my greatest achievement; it was that I have survived this. I have managed to continue on; I have a life that's happy in a different way. My family is scattered to the wind, but we're still a family.
What have I noticed in myself? I have a stronger sense of who I am, perhaps I've spent so much time by myself. Otherwise, I'm still the same introvert I was when I started—only now I manage to peek out every now and again.
For information about Judy Shepard's Oct. 16 visit, call 312-341-3510 or see www.roosevelt.edu . For more on the Center on Halsted vigil that will take place on the same day, 773-472-6469 or www.centeronhalsted.org/events_monthly.html .
Shepard will discuss ways people can erase hate and accept diversity at a free lecture sponsored by Roosevelt University on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Auditorium theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress.
The annual vigil that commemorates slain University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard will now be held on the same day—and in the same vicinity—that his mother will be. The Center on Halsted Anti-Violence Project Vigil will take place Oct. 16, 5:30-6:30 p.m., at Spertus Lounge at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan, 2nd floor.
