WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS! The Laramie Project, a play by Moisés Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project, had its world premiere production at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Opening night in Denver was February 26, 2000. This month the Matthew Shepard Foundation is celebrating the 20th anniversary of one…
On December 2nd, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Washington National Cathedral hosted a ceremony of inspiration, celebration, and song as we dedicated the Matthew Shepard Memorial Plaque. Please watch the dedication using the link below or view the Official Plaque Dedication Program.
Whom We’re Looking For [THIS POSITION IS CLOSED] The Matthew Shepard Foundation, an LGBTQ+ oriented, national civil rights organization based in Denver, is looking for an experienced, creative, well-connected fundraising professional as our next Development Director. You’ll be putting your strong passion for civil rights and social change to work for an organization that seeks…
Today, the FBI released their annual Hate Crimes Report, showing a slight decrease in the number of bias-motivated crimes reported in 2018, along with fewer agencies reporting at least one hate crime. The report also noted the majority of incidents were motivated by a victim’s race, ethnicity and ancestry (59.5%), religion (18.6%), and sexual orientation…
The following statement was read on Wednesday, October 16th on behalf of Judy and Dennis Shepard, at the Department of Justice commemorative event to mark the historic 10-year anniversary of the signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. “Throughout the history of this country, discrimination against someone because of…
Twenty-one years ago at 12:53 a.m. in Fort Collins, CO, Matthew Shepard died with his family by his side. Five days prior, he had been brutally attacked and left for dead in Laramie, WY, becoming the victim of one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in this nation’s history. Since that day, his parents,…
InvestigateTV debuts “Measure of Hate,” a documentary uncovering how dozens of high-profile hate crimes investigated and prosecuted by the FBI and DOJ were not counted in the FBI federal database. The special features MSF Programs Director, Cynthia Deitle. Watch Now or click the image below.
By Bernie Pazanowski and Paige Smith, Bloomberg Law The federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act conviction of an Amazon employee who expressed his hatred for homosexual individuals by punching a gay co-worker was upheld by the Fourth Circuit June 13. Congress adopted the Hate Crimes Act under its commerce clause authority. But James Hill argued that…
Washington DC – The Matthew Shepard Foundation is proud to announce the introduction of the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2019. Today, Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) introduced bills in the United States’ Senate and House of Representatives that would do away with the use of the…
“For the impact you make today has a powerful rippling effect on every tomorrow.” – Anonymous Traveling the country leading hate crime trainings for police and prosecutors, Cynthia Deitle has heard from all the skeptics. “Laws are already in place for crimes, so it’s a waste of time and resources to add an extra charge for…