Tragedy Transformed into Activism

Matthew Shepard's murder changed all our lives but foremost among those affected was Judy Shepard, his mother. Both because of her grief, and in spite of it, she became an activist committed to ending hate violence against LGBT people. In her book, The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie and a World Transformed, she shares the intimate details of her loss with honesty, forgiveness, determination and grace.

Here is a video of Judy Shepard speaking out in the name of her son and an article about the rising incidence of hate crimes against LGBT folks in the U.S.