A high school teenager lost his life to suicide after being harassed at school by fellow students. Nigel Shelby of Huntsville Alabama joins a growing number of LGBT suicide victims.
A brilliant smile and joyful personality concealed the anguish of an adolescent male trying to find his place. Bullying is nothing new but, the tools available to commit the acts are more advanced. Back in the day student could go home and recharge. Nowadays through social media bad actors can follow a child home. There's literally no escape.
As someone working at an organization (Icon City) dedicated to providing support and community to young men who look and love like Nigel Shelby; it's not a good day to ask me why I keep doing what I do. So many times people try to tell me to make my work my palatable to people who aren't black and gay. Everyone is welcome in all of our "inclusive urban" ventures but I won't apologize for showcasing black gay stories because we obviously live in a world that has a lot to learn about accepting people who are different.
Rocket City Pride, a local LGBT organization has raised over $800 in Shelby's honor and released the following statement.
“We are heartbroken over the death of Nigel Shelby, a 15 year old freshman at Huntsville High School,” Rocket City Pride, the local LGBTQ+ Pride organization in Huntsville said in a statement. “Nigel took his life because he was bullied for being gay. There are no words that can be said to make sense of this devastating news.”
If you our someone that you know is a victim of bullying reach out to the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 they have trained counselors on call 24/7.
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