Sirdeaner Walker of Springfield, Mass., complained to her son’s school about the daily taunts. The bullies who tormented her son Carl with the words gay and fag made her feel worse than the breast cancer she had survived. She was on her way to protest again when she found Carl, 11, hanged with an extension cord.

Walker said her son’s life wasn’t easy, but he was reliable and generous. “I have been homeless, but Carl and I made it through. … I was a victim of domestic violence, and we made it through. The one thing we couldn’t get through was public school,” she said.

ABC:

Walker, who works as a director of homeless programs, said Carl — a slight child who loved his schoolwork — had endured endless taunts since he started sixth grade in September.

[…] The boy had been active in his church, taking communion on the recent Palm Sunday and playing a wise man in the Christmas play. He helped the needy and a black history program.

“That’s the type of kid he was,” Walker said. “You could rely and count on him.”

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#gay rights#massachusetts#suicide