Judy Shepard visits city to spread message of erasing hate

Nearly a decade after her son Matthew’s death to an anti-gay hate crime, Judy Shepard visited Oklahoma City to discuss the need for tolerance and erasing hate across the nation.

Shepard provided the keynote address during the Cimarron Alliance Foundation’s Pride-week fund-raising event June 19 at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel. The event drew more than 250 people.

“I think it is easy to forget after 10 years that Judy Shepard is a mom who lost her son tragically,” said Richard Ogden, chair of the foundation. “She is forced to relive this tragedy each time she gives an interview or speaks in his memory. I want to bear witness to the tremendous amount of energy it took for this mom to tell her story so that our lives may be better. After three television interviews she was drained, but she summoned her strength again to appear before the packed room for the dinner. She does this not for self but for us. So that each of us might live in a more fair and equitable nation.”

Shepard travels the nation sharing her ideas on making the world a more accepting place for everyone regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity and expression or sexual orientation. As executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, she recently unveiled an “erase hate” campaign, which strives to replace hate with compassion, understanding and tolerance.

At the conclusion of the event at the Skirvin, patrons were encouraged to take pink erasers and erase the word hate from index cards placed at their tables. Then they were inspired to replace the hatred language with messages of love and encouragement for all people.

“The fight against hate, bigotry and hate crimes is moved forward by the efforts of partners like the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Judy Shepard,” said Rob Howard, executive director of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation. “Judy Shepard’s visit provided Cimarron another opportunity to get the message out to our fellow Oklahomans, and particularly the ‘moveable middle,’ that hate crimes are a problem and that as a society we must fight them. The news coverage was broad and favorable. Mrs. Shepard’s courage, message and the moral power she brings to the battle are important in the fight against hate crimes in Oklahoma and in the nation.”

Under Shepard’s leadership at the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the organization has become a well-established, highly effective and much respected institution in the civil rights community. She has spoken to more than one million young people about the impact of hate speech and violence as well as the importance of understanding and appreciating diversity in all of its forms.

“Judy Shepard’s visit provided an opportunity for the Oklahoma business community and Oklahomans in general to stand together and say that despite what has been broadcast throughout the nation and world about our state, we truly are a tolerant, diverse and welcoming people,” said Saul Olivarez, chair of the fund-raising event.

In October 1998, Judy and Dennis Shepard lost their 21-year-old son,
Matthew, to a murder motivated by anti-gay hate in the quiet college
town of Laramie, Wyoming. Now 10 years later, Matthew's memory still
lives on in the hearts and minds of the LGBT community and stands as a
reminder for the need of hate crime legislation protection throughout
our nation and of our continuous pursuit of true equality and recognition.

The Cimarron Alliance Foundation invites you to "A Celebration of Compassion and Tolerance .. An Effort to Erase Hate."
Come and hear Mrs. Shepard share her ideas on making the world a more accepting place for everyone, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity and expression or sexual orientation.

Under Mrs. Shepard's leadership as executive director of the Matthew
Shepard Foundation, the organization has become a well-established,
highly effective and much respected institution in the civil rights
community. She has spoken to more than one million young people about
the impact of hate speech and violence, the importance of
understanding and appreciating diversity in all of its forms and has
inspired countless individuals and communities to play a role in
making the world a safer place for all of us.

Matthew's death moved many thousands of people around the world to
attend vigils and rallies in his memory. Determined to prevent others
from suffering their son's fate, Judy and Dennis decided to turn their
grief into action and established the foundation to carry on Matthew's
legacy. The foundation is dedicated to working toward the causes
championed by Matthew during his life: social justice, diversity
awareness & education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people.

In a recent guest column for GayPolitics.com, Mrs. Shepard said
anti-gay remarks by state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, hit her
like a punch to the gut. "Through the Matthew Shepard Foundation, we
are reaching young people who are at risk of being poisoned by the
dark ideas of people like Sally Kern," she said. "I don't know why
Sally Kern is proud of comparing gay people to cancer or terrorism,
but count me as someone who's listening now to people like her. She
may be free to say people like my son are a threat to America, but
when she does she puts other mothers' sons in danger. I pray she
doesn't say it anymore."