Boston Globe Editorial: Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover "Bullied to Death"

"Bullied to Death" is an excellent editorial in the Boston Globe on the Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover tragedy. The editors discuss the 500 pound gorilla in the living room—that bullying of young boys is often much harsher in the inner cities:

Relentless bullying, including anti-gay slurs, by students at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield pushed sixth-grader Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover to take his own life, according to his mother. The quality of interventions by school officials is unclear. But an act so desperate by one so young is a clear reminder of how schools can become torture chambers for students perceived as different.

Massachusetts led the nation in 1993 by crafting an anti-discrimination law for gay and lesbian students. But the law is only as effective as the educators who implement it. And the stakes can be higher in poor, urban districts like Springfield, where nonconformity too often draws aggressive attention. Teachers or administrators who ignore even a single degrading comment in that environment can open the door to a world of pain.

Only two weeks after Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's death, 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera in Georgia took his life. Jaheem was also mercilessly bullied and called "gay".

Bullying is much more intense in poor, urban school districts because this is where children (and their "parents") are taught to glorify "thug" culture. So it becomes unfortunately all-too-common in the black community to taunt and harass boys and young men who do not act like thugs. How many more children have to be bullied to death until we learn this wrong?

Bullied to Death [Boston Globe]

You May have Missed ...
ABC News on Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover [R20]
CNN on Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover and Bullying [R20]
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's Mother Speaks Out  [R20]
Anti-Gay Bullying Drives Mass. Student to Suicide [R20]
Mother Calls for State Investigation [R20]
Funeral for Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover [R20]

Comments

[chamblee54]

Have you followed the story of Jaheem Herrera . He was a light skinned young man from the Virgin Islands, in a predominantly black school. In addition to being called gay, he was called snitch.
The school is middle class and suburban.
This is a serious problem.

[Rod Mc]

Chamblee, yes, I've reported on the Jaheem Herrera tragedy all this week. Thanks. -RM

[Viktor]

This has to stop. We need to address this in our community

[Dluv]

I haven't been paying attention, but is there ANY black press covering these two tragedies?

[Mad Professah]

I didn't realize Jaheem was from the Virgin Islands...

[Reg]

this could have been me.....how many of us can say that.....i can...something needs to be done....