Simmi Williams, Jr. laid to rest…
This homicide scared the pants off of us, as the street where this happened is not far away. Simmie Williams, Jr. was a transgender identifying African-American boy of only 17, who was shot to death, while dressed as a girl -- his body left in a dirty, vacant lot in a suburb. He was buried by his mother, however, as a boy. The local gay community helped to raise the money needed for Simmie's funeral.
His murderers have still not been caught, and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department have ignorantly, and in a bigoted fashion, NOT labeled this as a hate crime. Another local gay man was brutally beaten outside a popular eatery, 2 days later, on famed Las Olas Boulevard. This was also the same week a 14 year old boy in LA was shot in the face in a classroom, because a bully found out he was openly gay. Simmie had pulled out of high school, with his mother's consent, because of the bullying he was receiving there. He had just signed up in school to become a chef, which was his dream, the day before he was shot to death.
Read the article in full, here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/445790.html
It can not be classified as a hate crime. 1st off, what was a 17 yr old boy doing early morning walking through what is known as one of the worst neighborhood’s of Downtown Fort Lauderdale? Question the mother, not the man who killed him. Killing is wrong, ok but come on, even tourists from canada know that 7th & Sistrunk is a BAD neighborhood. She was just adding to the shit that is that neighborhood. Drug Dealers, Homeless, and Projects. Even the most daring, trifling queens wont go near there for their fixes. I miss the Copa. !
Harry Demasiado said this on April 15th, 2008 at 4:12 pm