By Mark Hallum
Dennis and Judy Shepard, still heartbroken by the murder of their son in a 1998 Wyoming hate crime, tour the country in his honor discussing bigotry against the LGBT community.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz hosted a panel discussion with the parents of Matthew Shepard Tuesday night where the audience sought advice on how to deal with the issues in their communities.
Shepard, 21 at the time of his death, was targeted for being openly gay by two men he met in a bar who lured him to a field outside of Laramie. He was bound to a fence and beaten with the butt of a .357 magnum revolver. His father said the only part of his face that was not covered in blood was a streak where a single tear ran down his face.
But Judy Shepard still exercises optimism about her home state, where she is a teacher.
“[Wyoming] has a very welcoming community… but for those of us who are still lacking in education about what diversity really is, it’s hard to talk about in Wyoming when you don’t see it in your everyday life. Which is why I think being part of Queens is a blessing for everyone,” Judy Shepard said. “You learn about different cultures, different religions, different think-based initiatives and how to take care of each other regardless of certain beliefs. You all understand that you are all part of one race, the human race.”
Although Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote, Judy Shepard contended it is far from a forward thinking place. With over 90 percent of the population English-speaking and conservative, the only diversity inhabitants of the most sparsely populated state in the nation experience comes from Native-American groups in the region.
Hate crime laws have still yet to be codified at the state level.
An audience member who was given the microphone at Borough Hall asked how transgender people can seek better treatment and claimed they are often marginalized or bullied within LGBT community itself.
“The thing we have found really helps is telling stories. People need to understand the experiences of the trans community, know what they’re actually going through,” Judy Shepard said. “Being able to share their stories at forum such as this and being able to explain what they know, who they are and what has happened to them has changed people’s hearts and minds.”
Also speaking at the event were Joselo Lucero, Outreach coordinator for Hagedorn Foundation and the brother of an Equadorean immigrant killed in a bias incident in Patchogue, L.I.; Afaf Nasher, executive director of CAIR-NY; former Director Emeritus of the Langston Hughes Community Library Andrew Jackson; and Anita Nagel Weisbord, who escaped the Holocaust in Austria on the Kindertransport, which saved 10,000 and took only children to the safety of England.
The Shepards funneled their grief into the Matthew Shepard Foundation, after the hate crime which captured the attention of people around the world, inspiring rallies and vigils.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
