Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Matthew Shepard

This month’s Queer Ancestor Spotlight is deeply personal to me. The story and legacy of Matthew Shepard’s death functions almost as bookends to my coming out process and finding affirming queer community. I was just starting to realize I was not exactly like my other male friends when Matthew’s death became a national story. I traveled the inner journey of coming out to myself while his death rippled through the politics of the United States. I came out publicly shortly before the act bearing Matthew’s name codified sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate crime law. And I found myself on the other side of the historic legalization of same-sex marriage as a married gay man, surrounded and supported by queer community in the Washington National Cathedral as we gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Matthew as his ashes were finally laid to rest.