|
Blake Brockington (May 14, 1996 – March 23, 2015) was an American transgender teen boy whose suicide attracted international attention. He had previously received attention as the first openly transgender high school homecoming king in North Carolina, and had since been advocating for LGBT youth, the transgender community, and against police brutality. == Life == Brockington was born LaShonda Marie Brockington on May 14, 1996 in Charleston, South Carolina. He moved to Charlotte, North Carolina from Charleston when he was 12.〔 Brockington was known as a girl until he came out publicly as transgender while attending East Mecklenburg High School as a 10th grade student. His family was not supportive of his decision to transition from female to male, wondering why a black youth would want to draw more attention to himself. Because of this, Brockington chose to live with a foster family during his transition.〔〔〔 He chose the name Blake after it came to him in a dream and because he liked how masculine it sounded.〔 He was taking hormones, which were covered by Medicaid, and had planned to get a mastectomy once he was able to afford it.〔 He spent two years as a drum major for East Mecklenburg High School's band.〔 In 2014, Brockington received national attention for being the first openly transgender high school homecoming king in North Carolina after collecting the most money for East Mecklenburg High School's chosen charity, Mothering Across Continents. He later indicated the process had been tough on him, saying, "That was single-handedly the hardest part of my trans journey. Really hateful things were said on the Internet. It was hard. I saw how narrow-minded the world really is."〔〔〔〔〔 After his election as homecoming king, he began publicly advocating for transgender and LGBT youth issues.〔〔 He spoke at the 2014 Transgender Day of Remembrance service in Charlotte. In December 2014 at Charlotte's Independence Square, he organized a protest against police brutality against blacks. He was involved with setting up an exhibit, "Out of the Shadows: Gay America from Kinsey to Stonewall", at the Levine Museum of the New South in early 2015.〔 Brockington was also mentoring transgender youth.〔 He spoke in an 8-minute documentary made in 2014 by three Elon University students, "BrocKINGton", about his experience being bullied because he was transgender, and being hospitalized for cutting himself.〔 He was active in the faith community, and participated in the Trans Faith and Action Network Conference held in Charlotte in August 2014.〔 Brockington was enrolled at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, majoring in music education. At the time of his death, he was on medical leave and not attending classes. He stated that his plans were to become a band director and composer.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Death of Blake Brockington」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|