 May 2002
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Patrica Watson, Editor Sara Burke, Assistant Editor Pat Farren, Founding Editor 2161 Massachusetts Ave. Telephone number: Fax number:
pwork@igc.org Peacework has been published monthly since 1972, intended to serve as a source of dependable information to those who strive for peace and justice and are committed to furthering the nonviolent social change necessary to achieve them. Rooted in Quaker values and informed by AFSC experience and initiatives, Peacework offers a forum for organizers, fostering coalition-building and teaching the methods and strategies that work in the global and local community. Peacework seeks to serve as an incubator for social transformation, introducing a younger generation to a deeper analysis of problems and issues, reminding and re-inspiring long-term activists, encouraging the generations to listen to each other, and creating space for the voices of the disenfranchised. Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
A Mother's Work for Justice and Mercy
The story of the murder of Matthew Shepard was featured in March on HBO's The Laramie Project and NBCs The Matthew Shepard Story. It dramatized flashbacks of Matthew's life, and his parents' struggle to craft a statement to the court recommending mercy rather than the death penalty for the murderers of their son as a step toward healing. Matthew's murderers are now serving life sentences for their crime. In a statement aired after the movie, Judy Shepard urged people to "replace prejudice and hate with understanding, acceptance, and compassion." The Shepards also participated in the creation of the documentary Journey to a Hate Free Millennium about Matthew's murder, the dragging death of African American James Byrd Jr., and the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. Judy Shepard has taped public service announcements with the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The GLSEN spot showed students shouting "homo," "faggot," and "queer," and Matthew's photograph, followed by Judy Shepard saying "Next time you use words like these, think about what they really mean." It aired on MTV to an audience of 30 to 45 million youth. She is touring college campuses across the nation talking about accepting diversity and ending the terrorism of hate crimes. Judy Shepard and the Matthew Shepard Foundation can be reached at info@matthewshepard.org Ellen Shub , with information from the Boston Globe, Boulder News, Salon.com, the Advocate.
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