As we get closer to the 10th anniversary of State of Belief, we are revisiting some of our favorite interviews. This week, we rewind to a powerful interview with the late Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. In the beginning of October 2007, the Senator appeared on this program as part of his long-term advocacy for a federal hate crimes law. It was less than a year later that Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor.
Senator Kennedy was a tireless fighter for a federal Hate Crimes Act. The final time that he was able to sponsor this legislation in 2009, he lived to see its passage in the Senate – but passed away before President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law on October 25, 2009. Just weeks before that historic moment, Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard was on State of Belief, and you’ll hear part of that October 3, 2009 conversation.
