Judy und Dennis Shepard visit Munich

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MANEO-News
 Internationaler Tag gegen Homophobie
Berlin, 22.09.2012
A tour of Europe in remembrance of their son Matthew Shepard murdered in 1998.
Judy und Dennis Shepard visit Munich
On a tour through eastern European countries, which was supported by the US State Department, Judy und Dennis Shepard arrived at their last stop, the capital of Bavaria.
MANEO Project Director Bastian Finke helped with the preparation of their Munich programme and accompanied Judy and Dennis Shepard along with Dietmar Holzapfel owner
of the hotel “Deutsche Eiche” 1.
Judy and Dennis Shepard are the parents of Matthew Shepard who at 21
years old was murdered in October
1998 in Laramie (WY) in the USA. Two
young men motivated by gay hate
committed the murder. This crime created a public sensation and led to a
large citizen movement in the USA to
have hate crimes that are committed
because of the sexual orientation of the
victim also given an additional level of
punishment under the existing “Hate
Crime Law”. This was finally achieved
in the “Matthew Shepard and James
Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act”
signed into law by Barack Obama in
2009. Two films have now been proReception at US Cunsul General in Munich (from left to right): Bastian
Finke MANEO, US Consul General William E. Moeller and Judy and Denduced about the appalling crime, “The
nis Shepard. © Foto: MANEO.
Laramie Project”, and “The Matthew
Shepard Story”, both of which are available in German.
In Munich, on the last Friday, there were discussions and meetings with the US Consul General
William E. Moeller, with the anti-violence project from the Munich scene “sub”, and with members
of a Munich school.
1
Deutsche Eiche is the oldest gay/lesbian meeting place in Munich.
Spendenkonto: Mann-O-Meter e.V. Bank für Sozialwirtschaft, BLZ 100 205 00, Konto: 312 60 00, Stichwort „MANEO“
MANEO ist ein eigenständiges Projekt von Mann-O-Meter e.V. – Mitglied im Arbeitskreis der Opferhilfen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ado) e.V. und im
Deutschen Paritätischen Wohlfahrtsverband/ LV Berlin – finanziell gefördert durch die Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Integration, Arbeit und Soziales (SenIAS)
– gewürdigt von der LANDESKOMMISSION BERLIN GEGEN GEWALT (2003) – ausgezeichnet mit dem METE-EKSI-PREIS (1999), dem CSD-PREIS FÜR ZIVILCOURAGE
(2001) und dem Gewaltpräventionspreis CHANCE-AWARD (2006) – Partner von: SCHULE OHNE RASSISMUS/ SCHULE MIT COURAGE und der: „BERLIN ALLIANCE
AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA“, der weiter angehören: KAMPANIA PRZECIW HOMOFOBII (Polen), Lambda-Warszawa (Polen), SOS-HOMOPHOBIE (Frankreich) und COGAM
(Spanien). Organisator des MANEO-TOLERANZBÜNDNISSES, dem bereits über 90 Unternehmen, Events und Institutionen aus Berlin angehören.
Standing Ovation
The event on Friday at the Anton-Fingerle School was organised by the US-General Consulate.
Attending were the 350 school students and their teachers, Judy und Dennis Shepard, John
Crosby from the US-General Consulate in Munich, and Bastian Finke. The students gave a very
warm welcome to their guests. The film
“The Matthew Shepard Story“ was then
shown, following this Judy und Dennis
Shepard gave a speech and then answered questions from the students.
The students were very impressed by
their commitment and long standing
engagement.
They described the life of Matthew including how, at the age of 18, he told
them he was gay. Judy Shepard said,
“When Matthew said to me‚ Mum I’m
gay, I answered, I’ve known that since
350 school students and their teachers attended an open discussion at
you were 8”. He was very surprised
Anton-Fingerle-Bildungszentrums in Munich: John Crosby, US Consul
and I said to him, attentive mothers
John Crorsby(2nd from left), Dennis Shepard (3rd from left) und Judy
know these things quite early”. Dennis
Shepard (3rd from right). © Foto: MANEO
told the students: “Matthew said that he
had something very important to tell me and asked if we could have a talk under 4 eyes. He then
told me that he was gay. I answered‚ Okay, but what exactly did you want to tell me that was so
important? After this talk we really had a father-son relationship“. With his death his parents have
taken on the aims and hopes of their son and are committed to carrying them forward.
Another moving moment occurred when one of the teachers took the opportunity to thank the
Shepards for their commitment and then “came out” to those assembled there. The response to
his courage from the more than 350 guests was a sustained standing ovation.
During their stay Judy und Dennis Shepard also visited the former concentration camp of Dachau,
where they received a presentation on the persecution of homosexuals and the murder of gay
men in Dachau. During their tour of Dachau they were very impressed with the number of school
groups they encountered which were visiting the memorial sites and exhibitions with their teachers.
US-State Department supported the European
tour
The “Matthew Shepard Foundation“ was created
by Dennis und Judy Shepard in memory of their
son who was murdered in October 1998 at the
age of 21 in an anti-gay hate crime. The Foundation was created in order to carry forward the
ideas and dreams of their son so that understanding, compassion, and acceptance come to replace
hate, via a programme of education, face to face
meetings, and democracy strengthening actions,
and through it all a retelling of the story of Matthew Shepard.
Visiting the former concentration camp Dachau (from left
to right): Dietmar Holzapfel, Judy und Denis Shepard. ©
Foto: MANEO.
For three weeks from the beginning of September
Judy und Dennis Shepard have travelled through
Eastern Europe carrying their message of acceptance and respect for others and support for human rights for all, including those of LGBT people, und explaining the significance for the USA of
the “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act“ They have had local
meetings with representatives of LGBT organisations, schools, youth groups, politicians, and
government representatives. In all of these meetings they have stressed the importance of the
commitment of parents to their LGBT children because of its fundamental importance for their
development.
Under the leadership of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the State Department embassies worldwide have adopted the human rights of LGBT people as a key objective as part of the
campaign for human rights in general. Therefore the US embassies supported the visits of Judy
und Dennis Shepard to Poland, Latvia, Estonia und Hungary with preparation of contacts and
meetings and receptions for representatives of the governments, administrations, social figures,
LGBT representatives, and the press.