Queer Across America: Visiting Wyoming’s Dark Past

The biggest concern people express to me about my Queer Across America road trip is how dangerous it can be as a solo queer traveler—especially in more rural areas. Well, with a population just under 600,000—less than a lot of major cities—Wyoming is the most rural state of them all.

My anxiety spikes as I enter Laramie in the late afternoon. I’ve been driving for six hours on a desolate highway with nothing but my thoughts, and the only thing I keep thinking about is how Matthew Shepard was murdered here.

In 1998, Matthew was lured away from a bar by two straight men that posed as being romantically interested in him. They then brought him just outside of the city, beat him, tied him to a fence, and left him to die in near-freezing temperatures. The murder brought national attention to hate crime legislation at both the state and federal levels and became one of the most infamous hate crimes in queer history.

The vile past made me want to avoid the state altogether until I learned that there was a memorial at the University of Wyoming (UW) dedicated to Matthew’s life.

I roam around the campus searching for … I don’t even know. Is it a statue? Is it a garden? Is it a courtyard? I’m not sure what sort of memorial it is, but I grow more and more nervous as I’m falling deeper into the University with little phone service. Matthew’s story keeps popping into my head. Am I being lured somewhere with false information?

After an intense hour of looking, I let my body collapse onto a patch of grass. I’m tired, anxious, and afraid to be stuck in Laramie after nightfall. Then, I catch a glimpse of rainbow colors peaking from beyond a bush. I rush over to a small area with multiple benches. Each one has a plaque on it, but only one holds an assortment of trinkets. 

My anxiety suddenly turns to anger. I can’t believe how such an important figure in queer history is commemorated with only bench. Then I read the plaque out loud: “Matthew Shepard, he continues to make a difference. Peace be with him and all who sit here.”

I sit on the bench and take a deep breath while I look at the gifts left on it: tattered pink and yellow bandanas draped across the back, interlacing rainbow bracelets, a bouquet of flowers, and a handwritten note. 

All my thoughts about Matthew since I first learned about his story race through my mind. I feel fear toward the violence he experienced. I feel confusion trying to understand why people would commit such a horrific act. I think about how that could have easily been me or any of my friends.

Then I realize that it isn’t just a bench. It’s a sanctuary. It’s a mecca for queer people everywhere but especially for those in small towns where one might feel like there isn’t anyone else like them. I don’t need to look any further than the gifts that are left for Matthew to see that I’m not alone. The bench is a testament to queer culture. Throughout LGBTQ+ history, we’ve taken such simple things like a bench and turned them into something that transcends meaning with the energy we put into it.

I thank Matthew for allowing me to have that moment with him. Before leaving the city, I stop at a coffee shop. Night Heron is an adorable two-story shop that proudly displays a rainbow flag above its door. Much of the clientele and employees are clearly queer, making me feel comfortable.

A place shouldn’t be defined by its past but by the strides it takes to correct its wrongs. A terrible tragedy happened in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998, but this city is not represented by homophobic murderers. The town cannot move forward correcting its wrongs if people only see it for the tragedy instead of its progress.

Through talking to locals and some of my own research, I learned a lot about how the area has progressed:

-The Matthew Shepard Foundation was created to help individuals find their voice to create change by challenging communities to address hate.
-In 2000, UW established the Rainbow Resource Center (now named the Poke Pride Center).
-In 2011, UW approved Queer Studies as a minor.
-UW has an extensive archive collection of queer history that anyone can visit.
-Various cities throughout Wyoming have chapters of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
-In 2017, the first annual Laramie PrideFest was established with the next one beginning May 30.

Queer Across America shows that there are different LGBTQ+ cultures everywhere. Join me next week as I make my way to Portland, Oregon to watch the oldest living drag queen perform!

Photos courtesy social media and London Alexander’s personal collection