Judy Shepard Message: Diversity Is a Blessing, Not a Curse

Hundreds of people spent their Tuesday evening in TUC’s Great Hall at the University of Cincinnati to hear from Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Shepard’s message was filled with sorrow, laughter and hope as she described her journey of recovery and resolve, beginning in 1998 when she first saw her badly beaten son Matthew clinging to life in a Wyoming hospital.

Her remarks at UC fell on the day of her 36th wedding anniversary and came just days after the U.S. House passed legislation to protect against hate crimes targeting sexual orientation.

Matthew Shepard’s death became a call for acceptance after he was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in 1998. “Matt is not here with us today because two men felt it was ok to hate,” she said. “We need to be educated about the things that we know nothing about. I think fear and ignorance is hurting the gay community.”

Judy Shepard now leads the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which is dedicated toward championing social justice, diversity awareness and education. She told the audience that civil rights issues regarding sexual orientation, including same-sex marriages, “will figure prominently on the White House civil rights pages.”

“We all have some kind of bias that we know nothing about. What you have experienced here is a discussion about love and acceptance and diversity.”

Shepard says that the two men convicted of killing her 21-year-old gay son “feel no remorse to this day. They think they did something grand.

“I blame society as equally as I blame those two men,” she said. “We taught them how to hate.”

“My job is to remind you that you’re the choir, and you need to keep singing,” she said. “People will identify with you when you are just your wonderful self,” she said. “Be honest about who you are.”

The event was sponsored by Student Activities & Leadership Development (SALD), MainStreet, the UC Honors Program, UC Women’s Center, Omicron Delta Kappa, United Black Student Association, Ethnic Programs & Services, GenderBloc and Out on Campus.