Megan Phelps-Roper

press release: Join WUD Distinguished Lecture Series for a discussion with Megan Phelps-Roper about her unique perspective on how we can connect with people we disagree with.

MEGAN PHELPS-ROPER was raised within the Westboro Baptist Church group, known for picketing against the LGBT community, funeral services for soldiers, and nearly every other religious faith. By 2009, Megan was running the church’s Twitter account, a platform for spreading their signature brand of hateful rhetoric to a global audience. In 2012, she and her sister made the incredibly brave (and rare) decision to abandon their cloistered way of life, leave their family and home, and renounce their teachings. Since then, Phelps-Roper has championed the power of empathetic dialogue to change minds and connect with those we may disagree with.

Her memoir, called Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church, is set to be transformed into a major feature film—directed by Marc Webb and produced by Reese Witherspoon. She engages with schools, faith groups, law enforcement, and anti-extremism organizations on strengthening human bonds through better public discourse. She has been covered, most significantly, by The New Yorker, The Guardian, VICE, The Globe and Mail, NPR, and other international organizations.

Please join WUD DLS for An Evening with Megan Phelps-Roper: Empathy for the Other Side on Tuesday, February 4th at 7:30 p.m. The doors of Shannon Hall in Memorial Union will open at 7:00 p.m. The one-hour conversation/lecture is open and FREE to both students and the public, and will end with a 30-minute Q&A.

Sign Language interpreting will be provided with CART captioning available upon request. If you need another accommodation to attend this event, please contact Kate Lewandowski at kate.lewandowski@wisc.edu. All accommodation requests should be made no less than two weeks before the event. We will attempt to fulfill requests made after this date but cannot guarantee they will be met.