NEW YORK, N.Y. — The Matthew Shepard Foundation is kicking off its 20th anniversary year at the historic Stonewall Inn, Nov. 16.
The event will be part press conference / part benefit for the Foundation. The press conference will be held from 5:30-6:30. Judy and Dennis Shepard will be addressing the media and answering questions. The benefit begins at 7pm and will be a cabaret-style evening of entertainment dedicated to the Shepard family. The Foundation will be hosting drag queens, readers, and live musicians. The performances will all be songs from 1998–the year that Matthew Shepard was murdered and the year that Judy and Dennis decided to speak out on his behalf.
“We’re thrilled to be in New York. Holding this event at the historic Stonewall Inn is even more meaningful than ever. The work that began there almost 50 years ago is paramount to the work we are doing today. If not for the riots, we may not have even had a voice for Matthew in 1998,” said Joshua Anderson, the foundation’s Development Director.
Judy and Dennis Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard–whose brutal and homophobic murder was the impetus for the Matthew Shepard Foundation as well as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act–will be speaking at the event. Jaimie Wilson, transgender country musician who recently won the Foundation’s Spirit of Matthew Award, will be performing that evening.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
