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Matthew
Shepard
has
been
the
face
of
hate
crimes
for
the
past
decade.
His
murder
was
extremely
gruesome,
but
it’s
just
one
example
of
the
many
lives
that
have
been
lost
to
hatred
and
cruelty.
A
new
traveling
memorial
called
Gay
American
Heroes
is
being
put
together
to
honor
GLBT
victims
of
hate
crimes.
“Bless
Matthew,
but
there
are
a
lot
of
other
people
who
also
lost
their
lives.”
said
Scott
Hall,
founder
and
chairman
of
Gay
American
Heroes.
Hall,
who
lives
in
Cocoa
Beach,
Fla.,
recently
contacted
Jack
Rutland,
executive
director
of
Stonewall
Library
&
Archives
in
Fort
Lauderdale.
The
two
men
agreed
that
the
library
will
serve
as
the
repository
for
information
gathered
for
the
memorial.
So
far,
Hall
has
gathered
200
names,
but
he
said
he
knew
of
1,000
victims.
“We
just
need
to
confirm
the
information,”
Hall
said.
“That
is
what
Stonewall
Library
will
do.”
At
some
point,
Stonewall
Library
will
also
host
the
exhibit,
Hall
said.
The
victims
that
will
be
profiled
in
the
memorial
include
Brandon
Teena,
a
female-to-male
transgendered
murder
victim
who
was
the
inspiration
for
the
film
“Boys
Don’t
Cry;
and
Sean
Kennedy,
a
20-year-old
from
Greenville,
N.C.,
who
was
attacked
while
leaving
a
straight
bar.
Hall
plans
to
involve
the
family
and
friends
of
the
victims
in
the
project.
Hall,
who
has
lived
in
Florida
his
whole
life,
has
been
an
activist
in
the
gay
community
for
many
years.
He
has
volunteered
at
Winter
Party,
the
Miami
Gay
&
Lesbian
Film
Festival
and
other
events.
Twenty
years
ago,
Hall
was
a
victim
of
two
hate
crimes
—
one
based
on
his
sexual
orientation
and
one
based
on
his
race,
he
said.
“I
was
left
on
the
side
of
the
road
in
one
of
the
attacks,”
he
said.
That
experience,
plus
the
recent
murder
of
26-year-old
Ryan
Skipper,
prompted
Hall
into
action.
Skipper
was
stabbed
to
death
in
Polk
County,
Fla.,
earlier
this
year
in
what
police
described
as
an
anti-gay
hate
crime.
Traveling
and
teaching
Hall’s
goal
is
to
create
a
traveling
multi-dimensional
memorial
that
will
be
displayed
at
college
campuses,
Gay
Pride
events
and
in
cities
where
there
have
been
hate
crimes.
Powerful
members
of
the
GLBT
community
are
behind
Hall.
U.S.
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.)
agreed
to
be
on
the
group’s
honorary
board,
and
gay
rights
activists
Frank
Kameny
and
Nadine
Smith
are
on
its
advisory
board.
Hall
named
the
group
and
traveling
memorial
“Gay
American
Heroes”
because
that
is
how
he
sees
the
victims
of
these
crimes.
“It
takes
courage
to
live
an
openly
gay
lifestyle,”
Hall
said.
“I
applaud
the
people
who
can
do
that.”
Hall
hopes
the
memorial
will
draw
attention
to
the
hatred
and
persecution
that
is
still
directed
at
gay
and
lesbian
people
in
many
parts
of
America.
“We’re
not
allowed
to
adopt
children
[in
Florida],
but
if
you’re
a
member
of
the
[Ku
Klux]
Clan
you
can
adopt,”
he
said.
Each
section
of
the
memorial
will
be
8
feet
tall
by
12
feet
long.
All
together,
he
thinks
the
memorial
will
be
120
feet.
One
side
of
the
exhibit
will
spell
out
“Heroes,”
and
on
the
back
of
each
corresponding
letter,
there
will
be
a
picture
of
a
hate-crime
victim.
“Heroes”
will
be
set
against
a
rainbow-colored
background.
“It’s
very
visual,”
Hall
explained.
“Our
goal
is
to
go
to
every
town
where
a
hate
crime
took
place.”
Hall
hopes
that
the
exhibit
will
make
an
impact
all
over
the
United
States
with
all
kinds
of
people.
One
of
his
goals
is
to
find
a
venue
for
the
exhibit
in
Washington,
D.C.
The
traveling
memorial
won’t
just
list
names;
it
will
also
list
the
victim’s
occupation.
“It
gives
more
meaning
to
the
fact,”
he
said.
“It
says
that
this
could
have
been
the
person
who
saved
your
mother’s
life
in
a
fire
or
the
person
who
saved
you
from
cancer.
We
are
going
to
put
a
face
on
it.”
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