Pride Alliance presents Judy Shepard to talk about her son’s legacy

On Tuesday, October 3, Pride Alliance of Washington University will welcome Judy Shepard for a speech and presentation at 8:00pm in Graham Chapel on the Washington University Danforth Campus. Shepard is the mother of the late Matthew Shepard, who was murdered for his sexual orientation in October of 1998. Her talk, “The Legacy of Matthew Shepard,” is free and open to the public, although priority seating will be given to WUSTL students.

Matthew’s murder resulted in a public outcry that brought hate crimes to the forefront of national debate. Following the tragedy, Judy Shepard, along with her husband Dennis, created the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which works to create gay and lesbian equality and to produce progressive hate crime legislation. Ms. Shepard will speak about the ways in which individuals can improve safety in communities and schools for all people – regardless of sex, gender, religion, race, or sexual orientation.

Shepard has lent her voice to public service announcements for many national human rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In 1999 she testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. She also is extremely active in Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and has actively promoted improving school safety for gay students.

For more information about the Matthew Shepard Foundation visit the Web site: http://www.matthewshepard.org. For additional information on this event, contact WUSTL’s Pride Alliance.

Pride Alliance is a multi-focus gay, genderqueer, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex (also known as DSD, or disorder of sex differentiation and development), ally, and asexual (GLBTQIA) organization open to all Washington University students – regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Its goals are to advocate GLBTQIA-friendly public policies through activism and by increasing awareness, to educate the Washington University community at large about GLBTQIA issues, and to build a supportive social network for GLBTQIA students.

Through these objectives, Pride Alliance attempts to make the Washington University campus an environment that is open to the needs of GLBTQIA students and that fosters a stimulating and respectful dialogue on GLBTQIA matters.

(Editor’s note: Judy Shepard does not do advance interviews. However, media are welcome at the presentation, and may also contact Pride Alliance to submit a written request to Ms. Shepard’s representatives.)