Matthew Shepard Foundation Presents “Erasing Hate: a Community Discussion”
1/5/2010
Matthew Shepard Foundation Presents “Erasing Hate: a Community Discussion”
New Mexico Highlands University’s Office of Campus Life will sponsor “Erasing Hate: A Community Discussion” presented by the Matthew Shepard Foundation Jan. 13 at 6 p.m.
The free public event will be in the Leveo Sanchez lecture hall on the ground floor of the university’s Donnelly Library, 802 National Ave.
Dennis and Judy Shepard founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation in memory of their 21-year-old son who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime near Laramie, Wyo., in October 1998. The foundation’s goal is to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance.
“The community discussion format of this event will allow participants to be interactive in looking at this important issue,” said Margaret Gonzales, the director for the Office of Campus Life. “The program will help people discover what they can do in their everyday lives to prevent hate crimes. The F.B.I. estimates that more than 7,000 hate crimes occur every year in the United States.
“Matthew Shepard was a college student when he passed away, which will help students relate to his story,” Gonzales said.
She said that since the erasing hate event was announced, she has received positive feedback from Highlands University students who appreciate that it is being offered on campus.
Matthew Shepard’s murder was a catalyst for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, federal legislation that became law in October 2009. Byrd was an African-American who was murdered in 1998 by white supremacists in Jasper, Texas.
The 2009 Act of Congress expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s gender, sexual orientation or disability.
For more information about the Jan. 13 community discussion, contact Gonzales at 505-454-3495 or marggonzales@nmhu.edu
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