Letters of Support to the Parents of Matthew Shepard Following his Murder
September 10–November 3, 2013
After midnight on October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student living in Laramie, Wyoming, was abducted, tied to a fence, beaten and left to die on the outskirts of town by two assailants. He died five days later with his family by his side. His murder claimed national and international attention and has become one of the most widely known anti-gay hate crimes in American history.
Following Matthew’s attack, complete strangers from all over the world, moved by the horrific circumstances of Matthew’s death, reached out to Judy and Dennis Shepard to share their condolences, outrage, grief, love and support. Many people sent money, wanting to help fight for change or to combat the hateful actions of others. The Shepards used these contributions to start the Matthew Shepard Foundation whose mission is to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion and Acceptance."
Not Alone: The Power of Response pairs artist Jeff Sheng’s Where Matthew Lay Dying, a hauntingly beautiful composite photograph of the fence outside Laramie—taken from Matthew’s perspective—with a selection of the letters sent to the Shepard family in order to explore the themes of empathy, community response and personal responsibility.
Special exhibitions are included as part of regular daytime visit tickets to Ford’s Theatre.
This exhibition is shown in conjunction with The Lincoln Legacy Project production of The Laramie Project, a deeply complex portrait of a community’s response to the 1998 hate-crime murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student living in Laramie, Wyoming. Learn more about the issues presented in this exhibit.
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