Homecoming King Suicide: Transgender 18-Year-Old Blake Brockington Commits Suicide In N.C.
A former homecoming king committed suicide in North Carolina last week. According to the New York Daily News, Blake Brockington, 18, was struggling with gender identity and has been depressed for quite a few years. This is the second trans suicide in North Carolina this year. Last month, Ash Haffner walked in front of a moving vehicle. It is unclear how Blake died, but police have confirmed that it was a suicide.
“The 18-year-old graduate of East Mecklenburg High School turned activist against racial injustice, died late Monday of suicide, according to Charlotte’s Time Out Youth Center, where he sought help with his transition from female.”
The former homecoming king’s suicide is undoubtedly heartbreaking for those who knew and loved him. According to Mail Online, Blake moved in with a foster family after his father and stepmother didn’t support his decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery to transition from a girl to a boy.
(TW: suicide) Blake Brockington was a young trans activist who killed himself after a battle with depression. RIP. pic.twitter.com/KVpghVAq8T
— farwz (@farwzaz) March 25, 2015
“My family feels like this is a decision I made. They think, ‘You’re already black, why would you want to draw more attention to yourself?’ But it’s not a decision. It is who I am. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Blake previously said.
He moved in with a foster family and received counseling as he transitioned, starting with hormone treatment. He seemed to be doing okay, and was really vocal in the LGBTQ community over the past couple of years. Blake was an advocate for the rights of sexual minorities, and spent much of his life as a part of the gay community in school (he graduated from high school last year) and beyond.
“In December, he led activists as they briefly shut down Independence Square in Charlotte before marching through Uptown. He also took part in the high school band, where he served as drum major, and played on the student rugby team, as well as being a top-grade student.”
This is heartbreaking. We have to love and protect our trans brothers & sisters. #TransLivesMatter#BlakeBrockingtonpic.twitter.com/PYL59nZC6l
— Dev (@HalfAtlanta) March 25, 2015
Funeral arrangements for Blake Brockington have not been announced.
Last October, a transgender woman named Kate von Roeder committed suicide. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, von Roeder left a heartbreaking message on Facebook before taking her own life.
[Photo via Facebook]
