judy shepard

Cross Post from Matt's InterstateQ.com

Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, the victim of a horrendous anti-gay hate crime in October 1998, spoke Tuesday evening to a group of hundreds of students and community members from across the state at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her main message of the night: "Tell your stories and just be who you are." Mrs. Shepard proclaimed that a "Catch-22" certainly exists. The only way things will change for the LGBT community is if people start to tell their stories. Many LGBT people, however, are afraid to "come out" with their stories due to the discrimination and prejudice which still exists. She said that despite the fear, we all must be willing to take the giant leap of faith trusting that we are on the right side and the right will win.

She challenged the audience, asking, "What has happened to our world?" She spoke to her upbringing and how she was taught the "Golden Rule." She spoke of the dreams her and people her age had during the 1960s. She pondered as to what happened to those dreams. Why are we ignoring all of these issues today?