Essay On The Laramie Project

Introduction: The Laramie Project considerably contributes to the national dialogue” on the issue of hate and hate crimes against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community (LGBTQ). “The Laramie Project is a gripping tour through the actual spoken words of Laramie people drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews to show the outrage, the sense of being unfairly singled out, the quiet hope for change among gay and lesbian residents and the sometimes callous behavior of journalists (Marsden).” The Laramie Project somehow contributed in addressing the national issue pertaining to the rights of LGBTQ community. This essay will first analyze what provoked or encouraged Moisés Kaufman and his team to create

In 1998, the town was shocked to the event that eventually changed the perception of the people of Laramie as well as the places where the gone far. The brutal, senseless murder of Matthew Shepard, who was gay, threw the quiet, laid-back community into the center of a media feeding-frenzy; broadcast and print journalists from across the country seized on the "hate-crime" aspects of Shepard's death (Lincoln). Wyoming, Laramie became a center of attention of many human rights groups particularly the LGBTQ community. According to the crime description, this was a deadly gay-bashing, in a lonesome, rural place, without much of a visible gay community and a political establishment not only opposed to that community’s needs, but even hostile toward its existence (Marsden). The Laramie Project was created to convey the comments of people in Laramie about the crime and how similar these comments are to the point of view of other people from different states or countries. The attack’s historical impact on Wyoming, and Laramie, and those places’ broader public identities to strangers worldwide, were powerfully shaped by the shocking first impressions of this vividly remembered crime; there are not enough laws about this kind of thing, in Wyoming or anywhere (Marsden). The death of Matthew Shepard encourage the creative and media industry to promote the fight against violence and

The play’s overwhelming takeaway is that we remember what we want, how we want and all the more intensely when events leave us with impressions we abhor (Marsden). The murder of Shepard became a seminal point in the gay rights movement; a generation later, Laramie, Wyoming, the city where Shepard died, is passing legislation combating LBGT discrimination (Imam). This tragedy still pains most decent people; however, through the tireless efforts of Matthew’s family and human rights activists, some good came of the heartbreak in that it helped spark the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act signed by President Obama 11 years after Matthew’s murder (Charingon). The actions taken after the death of Shepard sparked more actions that acted as response to the violent crime. The Laramie Non-discrimination Ordinance was passed, it prohibits discrimination against the LGBT community in housing, workplace and public accommodations