Blake Brockington, Trans Teen Activist Who Was First Trans Homecoming King In A North Carolina High School, Commits Suicide

Blake was the first trans homecoming king at his school, he
was at the forefront of trans issues. I just went to his tag and
found out so much, everything he's done for our community.
Blake, you were, and still are an inspiration. Rest in power. ❤
#blakebrockington #hisnamewasblake #translivesmatter
#blacklivesmatter
A photo posted by Trans Boys United! (@transboysunited) on...
Blake Brockington never had it easy. The 18-year-old was
disowned by his friends and family after coming out as trans
male, forcing him to be placed in a foster home and bringing him a
lot of hardship while he was a student at Charlotte’s East
Mecklenburg High School. But such obstacles never stopped the
teen from wanting to change things and make a difference.
Unfortunately, while he went out of his way to fight for trans teens
in general, Brockington’s own struggles weighed very heavily on
him to the point where the beloved student took his own life earlier
this week.
According to Qnotes , Brockington committed suicide on Monday.
His death was confirmed by Time Out Youth Center, the
Charlotte LGBT youth service agency where he found a great deal
of support. The agency is now trying to provide counseling for the
many young people Brockington touched.
The teen made national news when he became the first out trans
teen to win homecoming king in a North Carolina high school.
Brockington won after he raised the most money out of 12 other
contestants, which was donated to charity. It was a feat that
brought Brockington a platform to tell his story in order to
motivate other transgender teens, but it also brought about a lot of
hate from people both in and outside of Charlotte. As he told the
Charlotte Observer , “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.”
But Brockington also told Qnotes that stepping forward and
choosing to take part in homecoming nominations was something
he knew he needed to do, because winning could help many
others.
“I honestly feel like this is something I have to do. Nobody should
be scared to be themselves, and everybody should have an equal
opportunity to have an enjoyable high school experience.”
Brockington did a great deal of activist work, not only for LGBT
rights, but in efforts to raise awareness about police brutality
through the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The teen was also the
subject of a documentary that started filming last year
called Brockington . Those behind it mourned his loss on YouTube
this week:
“We dedicate this film in loving memory of Blake Brockington who
took his life. He was an inspiration for humankind. Blake was the
most passionate, giving, and loving person we have ever met. May
his soul live on and we hope that his message affects you all as
much it did for us.”
Brockington, a freshman at the University of North Carolina,
Charlotte, made quite the impact in a very short amount of time.
Despite the attacks he faced from people in his community and
even from his family, he made a lot of sacrifices so that others
wouldn’t feel as left out in the cold as he did.
“I’ve had a hard time coming out to my family, I had a hard time
coming out to my friends at school, but I did it. I’ve lost a lot of
friends. I don’t talk to a lot of my family anymore. [But] I want
other trans youth to understand that they’re not alone, and that
this is a large community.”