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Vigils to be held tomorrow for transgender teen Leelah Alcorn

Jan 02 2015
Written by Nick Duffy

Vigils are set to be held tomorrow in memory of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn.

The 17-year-old, from Ohio, scheduled a heartbreaking post on Tumblr citing her parent’s refusal to accept her trans status, and calling for better education and awareness, before taking her own life by stepping in front of a truck.

Despite the death, her mother Carla Alcorn continues to refuse to use female pronouns, saying: “We don’t support that”.

Tomorrow, members of the trans community are set to hold a vigil tomorrow outside Kings High School in Cincinnati – which Leelah Alcorn once attended – and at 1pm in Trafalgar Square, London.

Rowan Davis, who helped organise the London vigil, said: “We will be gathering in Trafalgar Square to memorialise our sister Leelah Alcorn.

“Her death was a political death. When a member of our community is brutalised at the hands of oppression we must all fight back.

“It is a reminder to other folks that we are more than just individuals in this struggle, that as a community we are stronger and that we can create positive change.”

Organisers of the Ohio vigil said: “It is time for all of us regardless of our sexual orientation to stand together to remember someone we lost. Every time I see someone claim their life, I get upset.

“Acceptance should not be something granted to few. Acceptance should be given to everyone, we are a diverse world of people.”