Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Group Rallies in Washington Square Park to Stop Bullying of Gay Teens

By DNAinfo Staff on October 29, 2010 12:50pm

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

GREENWICH VILLAGE — The Gay Men of African Descent's Washington Square Park rally against gay bullying and suicides was already planned when Joseph Jefferson, an activist associated with the group, hanged himself last week.

Jefferson's suicide stunned his friends and colleagues in the gay community and underscored a crisis facing LGBT youth in the city and around the country.

"Even those of us who are involved in the work can feel lonely and hopeless," said Kenyon Farrow, 35, executive director of Queers for Economic Justice at Thursday's rally. "We've got a lot of work to do."

The suicides of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi and other teens around the country as a result of gay bullying sparked the "It Gets Better" video campaign to help LGBT teens.

But speakers at the rally said work has to continue to make things better right now.

State Sen. Tom Duane, who sponsored a gay marriage bill that was defeated in the legislature last year, said reports of bullying and a community response to abuse will lead to better conditions for the gay community.

"We are all laying the groundwork for passing a hate crimes bill," Duane said at the rally.

"This is the last generation that will have to deal with this," he said of bias attacks.

Wearing a photo of Jefferson around his neck, Symba Soler, 22, who worked with the community activist at GMAD, said he dreamed of taking the anti-bullying and suicide message to the subway.

"On the subway, a person can see it and say, 'Whoa, my friend is going through something, let me give them a call'," Soler said.