Outpouring of grief and anger after suicide of Leelah Alcorn

By John Mack Freeman

Earlier this week, 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn left her suburban Cincinnati home and committed suicide. A few hours later, her Tumblr account automatically posted her suicide note. In the note, Alcorn discusses coming out to her mother, having her concerns ignored, being shoved into religious-based counseling, and a spiral of depression that ended with her taking her own life. That note has since gone viral and become a rallying cry for those seeking better protections for trans persons across the country.

Through it all, Alcorn’s family and school have refused to acknowledge her preferred name. Via Advocate.com:

Word of Alcorn’s suicide, her foiled desire to transition, and her motivation for taking her own life spread like wildfire across social media Tuesday, highly trending under the hashtag#LeelahAlcorn. A support page was launched on Facebook, Justice for Leelah Alcorn. Transgender community icons Jennifer Finney Boylan, Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and Fallon Fox tweeted messages of support, love and help that is available to anyone with gender identity issues, questions or concerns.

Tuesday night, WLWT-TV reported Kings High School held a moment of silence before a basketball game, before which an announcer asked those gathered to remember “Josh” as a “tender-hearted young man.”