Rally for murdered gay man set in LA
By Joe
Delaplane
Los Angeles
One year after the murder of Matthew Shepard shocked the
world, a rally will be held in Los Angeles Oct. 12 to remember
the innocent gay man who was murdered in Laramie, Wyo., because
of his sexuality, and to honor all those who have been victims
of racist and fascist-minded murderers.
Called by the Stonewall Initiative for Equal Rights in Los
Angeles, the event will honor the memory of all those killed in
hate crimes. This includes James Byrd, an African American man
in Jasper, Texas, who was dragged behind a pickup truck until
he died and his body was dismembered, Joseph Ileto, the
Filipino postal worker shot to death by a neo-Nazi who also
opened fire on a Jewish daycare center near Los Angeles and
critically wounded several children.
A member of the family of Joseph Ileto will be speaking at
this event, and a statement from Judy Shepard, Matthew
Shepard's mother, will be read.
Organizers plan to use this event to continue the struggle
against racism and homophobia and to forge unity in the
lesbian, gay, bi and trans community. They hope to demonstrate
that the key to defeating the forces of racism and right-wing
terror is the unity of all those who are victims of hate
crimes.
The Stonewall Initiative anticipates a large turnout for
this diversified, multi-cultural event that will leave
participants feeling unified for the ongoing struggle against
bigotry in all its forms.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
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