Two weeks ago, 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker Hoover caved under the pressure of relentless bullying and hung himself with an extension cord. His mother, who had repeatedly asked Carl's school to do something about the constant torment he endured, found him hanging in his closet. At the time there was an outcry, a condemnation of the school district for failing this child. It came too late for Jaheem Herrera.
Follow me over the fold for Jaheem's story.
EDIT: No matter how many times I tell myself to a) caffeinate BEFORE I blog, and b) proofread, I still goof up. Jaheem's last name was Herrera, not Hernandez. I apologize for the error, which I have now corrected.
This morning the Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that another 11-year-old boy, Jaheem Herrera of Decatur Stone Mountain, GA, has committed suicide as a result of bullying. He hung himself with a fabric belt and was found dead by his 10-year-old sister Yerralis.
"They called him gay and a snitch," his stepfather said. "All the time they’d call him this."
In an interview with WSB-TV, Bermudez also said her son was being bullied at school. She said she had complained to the school.
She said she asked him about the bullying Thursday when he came home from school and he denied it. She sent him to his room to calm down. It was the last time she would see him alive.
I hope you'll take the time to share information in the comments because I can't follow anti-bullying laws all over the country, but I can tell you that here in my home state of Michigan, a comprehensive anti-bullying law called Matt's Law has been winding its way through our state legislature for years. It has repeatedly run up against the Republicans in the Michigan Senate, who refuse to vote on the bill because it contains enumerated protections for LGBT youth. Their friends at the American Family Association of Michigan have effectively stalled the bill because of their disdain for LGBT people.
Meanwhile, a mother mourns her 11-year-old.
UPDATE: I saw this video on YouTube yesterday and wanted to take a second to share it. Apparently the Safe Schools fight is going on in Texas, too, and the good folks at Equality Texas put together this video.