PHOTO CREDITS All black & white photos of Matthew on this site, including the banner photo, were taken byGina van Hoof.
Judy Shepard:
Prop 8 Verdict ‘Moves America Closer to Its Ideals’
Says Victory
for Plaintiffs ‘Proves the Power of Personal Stories’
DENVER, Colo. — A sweeping federal court verdict
invalidating California’s ban on same-sex marriages “moves America closer to
its ideals of respecting individual freedom and treating all citizens equally
under the law,” Matthew Shepard Foundation board president Judy Shepard said
Wednesday.
Shepard, the mother of 1998 Wyoming anti-gay hate crime
victim Matthew Shepard, serves on the advisory board of the American Foundation
for Equal Rights, which filed the legal challenge to the ban in May on behalf
of citizens denied marriages by the 2008 law narrowly approved by voters.
“These plaintiffs are law-abiding, family-oriented,
tax-paying citizens whose privacy was invaded, and whose dignity was affronted,
by a misguided and unconstitutional law,” Shepard continued.
“Their victory at trial shows that our courts still play a
vital role in safeguarding the rights of minorities from majorities who
misunderstand them. But more importantly, it proves the power of personal
stories. Equal marriage rights are ultimately about people’s families, and
during the trial, their personal need for legal recognition of their
relationships came through loud and clear,” she added.
“After Matt came out to me, he once asked me if I thought
gay couples would ever be allowed to get married,” Shepard recalled. “I told
him I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime, but it probably would in
his. It’s so sad, and ironic, that it turned out the other way. But this case
warms my heart, to think that his dream is still coming true.”
Judy Shepard and her husband Dennis established the Matthew
Shepard Foundation in 1998 after their son’s murder in Laramie, Wyoming, to
honor him in a manner appropriate to his dreams, beliefs and aspirations. The
Foundation seeks to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion and
Acceptance” through its educational, outreach and advocacy programs and by
continuing to tell Matthew’s story.
One Woman’s Story of Inspiration:
Triathlon for Charity
Throughout the year, a growing
number of Matthew Shepard Foundation supporters contact us to offer their help
raising funds for our work in high schools, colleges and workplaces across the
country to reduce hatred, discrimination and bullying and replace them with
understanding, compassion and acceptance.
One such inspiring story
comes to us from Germany where, this summer, Elisabeth brought two years
of training to a conclusion by running in the Olympic triathlon at the Gay
Games in Cologne. She completed the
race August 1, while raising hundreds of Euros in pledges from donors to a
variety of charities, including the Foundation.
“The sudden loss of a
close family member two summers ago had made me look for an optimistic project
in the midst of grief and memories and decision-making – and the news of the Gay Games taking place in Germany for the first time ever reminded me that I’d
kind of thought about doing a triathlon for quite a while,” Elisabeth wrote on
her race Web site at http://www.charity-triathlon.eu/.
“So I registered, and
started training, and finished three sprint distance triathlons last summer and
a half-marathon earlier this year… and keep being amazed at myself,” she added.
“An effort like this ought to reach beyond the personal, which is why I am
dedicating my race at the Gay Games to three causes, represented by the four
remarkable charities presented on this site, and asking you to please support
me by donating to them.”
Along with the
Matthew Shepard Foundation, Elisabeth raised much-needed funds for HaitiCare to
rebuild an orphanage and school in Port-au-Prince; Medica Mondiale, which
offers support for traumatised women and girls in war and crisis zones; and the
Lambda Youth Network, an LGBT youth network offering support to lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people in Germany.
Individuals such as
Elisabeth provide thousands of dollars every year toward the Foundation’s
mission and help spread the word about the individual choices we all face to
Erase Hate in our communities. To support her pledge drive, visit http://www.msfhonorgifts.org and enter “Charity Triathlon German” in the Honoree Name field.
Judy Shepard to NYC Pride:
We Must Tell Our Stories
Judy
Shepard, with husband Dennis, served as a Grand Marshal for NYC Pride late last
month. In her letter to participants in the Pride Guide 2010, she remarked:
"Pride is our chance as a true community, whether we are gay, or straight,
or anywhere else along the spectrum, to show the world our determination to
live openly and equally. People need to hear our stories. They are the most
powerful tools we have for erasing hate."
Jennifer Beals New Book to Benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation
During the six years we were shooting The L Word, I kept a photographic journal of the cast and crew, born out of a profound desire to create a bulwark against my rapidly eroding memory. It was an era of my life I was eager to preserve: I wanted to remember the cast, the readthrus, the dinners, the rehearsals — everything. I took pictures and saved my scripts, callsheets, and memos and organized them every year. I used them for reference as the seasons moved on, but frankly I held onto them because I knew I would get a kick out of looking at them as the years passed. Mostly, I wanted to remember the joy, because no matter where the storylines went, we always managed to have fun.
Years ago, I started a tradition of making of making a photo book, to give as a gift to the cast and crew, after completing projects that were near and dear to my heart. As I started working on my cast-and-crew present for The L Word, I realized this wouldn't be like the others. The L Word was about the power of storytelling. And it was particularly unique because there were two streams of stories being told. Clearly we were telling your stories, but in some way we were telling our stories — the story of a group of colleagues who became friends while endeavoring to make something worthwhile. Somewhere along the line there was a kind of convergence. Somewhere underneath the plotlines of The L Word ran our own stories of friendship and struggle. These photographs evoke the various bonds and battles we as a cast endured.
The L Word as a series was, at its core, about community and that played out behind the scenes as the cast formed its own community. But the series also was about all of you who made our collective journey possible. That is why I wanted to make the book available to fans of the show.
The proceeds of the book and prints will go to several different charities including the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Mia Kirshner's I Live Here, a Project of Operation USA and The Pablove Foundation, because I wanted to give back to the organizations that have meant so much to me.
Throughout the year, a growing
number of Matthew Shepard Foundation supporters contact us to offer their help
raising funds for our work in high schools, colleges and workplaces across the
country to reduce hatred, discrimination and bullying and replace them with
understanding, compassion and acceptance.
