These are just a small few of the voices who have seen or been affected by Hate Crimes in America:
"On October 12, my first-born son - and my hero - died 50 days before his 22nd birthday. He died quietly, surrounded by family and friends, with his mother and brother holding his hand. All that I have left now are the memories."
"Matt loved people and he trusted them. He could never understand how one person could hurt another, physically or verbally. They would hurt him, and he would give them another chance. This quality of seeing only good gave him friends around the world. He didn't see size, race, intelligence, sex, religion, or the hundred other things that people use to make choices about people. All he saw was the person. All he wanted was to make another person his friend. All he wanted was to make another person feel good. All he wanted was to be accepted as an equal."
- Dennis Shepard, father of Matthew Shepard, the victim of a cruel hate crime in 1998.
Carol, Debby. Cincinnati Enquirer , "Live Without Hate." Accessed November 7, 2013. http://cincinnati.com/nie/live_wo_hate/.
"Matt loved people and he trusted them. He could never understand how one person could hurt another, physically or verbally. They would hurt him, and he would give them another chance. This quality of seeing only good gave him friends around the world. He didn't see size, race, intelligence, sex, religion, or the hundred other things that people use to make choices about people. All he saw was the person. All he wanted was to make another person his friend. All he wanted was to make another person feel good. All he wanted was to be accepted as an equal."
- Dennis Shepard, father of Matthew Shepard, the victim of a cruel hate crime in 1998.
Carol, Debby. Cincinnati Enquirer , "Live Without Hate." Accessed November 7, 2013. http://cincinnati.com/nie/live_wo_hate/.
In 1955, Emmett Till, a mere boy, was brutally murdered n 1955 after whistling at a white woman. His body was found in a stream weeks after he went missing. His murder was only made worse by the fact that the murderers were both acquitted in court. His mother, after seeing her son's mutilated body, insisted that there be an open casket viewing at his funeral, so that the whole world could see he brutality of the murder.
On May 18, 2013, Mark Carson was shot by a man because he was openly gay. A family friend said that Carson was 'Well loved by all his family.' It was also reported that he lived a happy life, one where he eventually was accepted and where he he could be open about being gay. He was even a member of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Leland, John. "Man Killed in the Village Is Remembered as Outgoing and Private." New York Times, May 29, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/nyregion/mark-carson-gay-man-killed-in-greenwich-village-is-remembered.html?_r=0 (accessed November 10, 2013).
Leland, John. "Man Killed in the Village Is Remembered as Outgoing and Private." New York Times, May 29, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/nyregion/mark-carson-gay-man-killed-in-greenwich-village-is-remembered.html?_r=0 (accessed November 10, 2013).
James C. Anderson was murdered in March 2012 in Jackson, Miss. after three white men ran him over with a truck, yelling 'White Power,' as they drove away. Anderson was man loved by his family and his community, and his death prompted marches and rallies in his honor and support. His family asked that the court not pursue the death penalty, as they 'wanted the matter to be used to promote racial reconciliation in the city.'
Severson, Kim. "Three Plead Guilty to Hate Crimes in Killing of Black Man in Mississippi." New York Times, March 22, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/us/three-plead-guilty-to-hate-crimes-in-killing-of-black-man-in-mississippi.html (accessed November 10, 2013).
Severson, Kim. "Three Plead Guilty to Hate Crimes in Killing of Black Man in Mississippi." New York Times, March 22, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/us/three-plead-guilty-to-hate-crimes-in-killing-of-black-man-in-mississippi.html (accessed November 10, 2013).