On Thursday, April 12, Judy and Dennis Shepard came to campus as keynote speakers to discuss social inequality and the pursuit of justice in honor of the 20th anniversary of their son Matthew Shepard’s passing.
Originally named The Symposium for the Eradication of Social Inequality after its creation in 1997, the symposium was renamed in 2002 to The Shepard Symposium on Social Justice. This was done to serve as a living reminder of the life of social activist and student at UW, Matthew Shepard.
This year’s Shepard Symposium followed the theme of courageous conversations, aimed at breaking silences, transforming hate and resisting violence.
“In this contemporary moment, we are witnessing increasing divisive and intolerant public discourse, as well as targeted violence against marginalized groups,” Co-chair of the Shepard Symposium Christi Boggs said. “At the same time, courageous voices from across our society are speaking out against these forces and exposing long-hidden, damaging secrets.”
Boggs invited the attendees to engage with those around them in their daily lives, in ways that serve to challenge their prejudice and preconceived notions as they prepared for the keynote speakers Judy and Dennis Shepard.
“The Shepards have truly made it their life’s work to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance,” UW President Laurie Nichols said.
For those in the audience who didn’t know the story of Matthew Shepard, Judy gave an overview of his last days.
In October of 1998, after an LGBT organizational meeting, Matthew went to a local bar and was befriended by two 21-year-old males pretending to be gay. They then offered him a ride home.
However, as the two began driving, they started to rob, beat, punch and hit Matthew with the butt of a 357 Magnum before they pulled him out of the car. Matthew was then tied to a buck and rail fence and beaten unconscious.
Once someone discovered Matthew, he was escorted to the hospital. His parents, who were in Saudi Arabia at the time, were called and told to come back to the U.S. as quickly as possible. The Shepard’s’ story became front-page news all over the country.
“I still don’t understand why Matt’s story was the one that spoke to everybody; gay, straight or whatever, but it did and still does,” Judy Shepard said. “Unfortunately, it is still a relevant story because it is still happening.”
Even though the proceedings of this tragedy took place 20 years ago, the politics of today have convinced the Shepards that the world still has a long ways to go before any real change can take place.
“This is going to require a joint effort from all of us [before] every American citizen and perhaps citizens of the world are treated with equality and respect,” Shepard said.
After Judy’s remarks, Dennis began to speak on the need for people in Wyoming to stand up and participate in governmental, as well as legislative, affairs. At the time of Matthew’s murder, there were no laws dictating the definition of and punishment for hate crimes.
“The saying was ‘every crime was a hate crime’ and that is not true,” Dennis Shepard said.
Even today, Wyoming is one of the five remaining U.S. states that have yet to draft and adopt legislation dealing with hate crimes.
As Dennis continued, he also directed his attention to the various untrue theories surrounding the reason for Matthew’s murder.
“[The perpetrators] didn’t know Matt, they’d never seen him before,” Shepard said. “Regardless of what you hear with these conspiracy theories, they had never met him before. He was not a drug dealer. He was just a kid trying to find his way through life. He was a typical college [student], he smoked too much, he drank too much, he didn’t go to class enough.”
Matthew Shepard was the victim of anti-gay hate and was targeted based on his sexual orientation, which is something both Judy and Dennis emphasized. They engage in dialogue about Matthew so they can spread awareness, activism and equality for all people that identify themselves different from today’s social norms.
The symposium concluded with a session of Q&A with the audience and a powerful message on how to enact the greatest social change.
“Bring your views, but also bring your ears to hear,” Judy Shepard said. “There is an adage about ‘we have one mouth and two ears for a reason.’ We should be listening more than we are talking. That’s really the only way we can learn what we need to do to make change and how we’re going to do it.”
