Remembering Larry: Five Things You Can Do to Speak Out Against Hate Violence

On February 12, 15-year-old Lawrence “Larry” King was shot in the computer lab of his school by a fellow student at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, California. Larry died three days later.

According to friends, Larry was perceived to be gay and gender non-conforming, and had been bullied at school. The suspect, a fourteen-year-old student, has been charged with first degree murder, and the case is being prosecuted as a hate crime.

Students march in Oxnard to honor Larry King, and to call for acceptance and peace.

In the face of this tragedy, young people are standing together against violence and bigotry. Students in Oxnard began to organize right away, using fliers and MySpace to spread the word.

Nearly 1,000 people, many of them schoolmates of Larry King, marched in Oxnard on Saturday to honor Larry’s life and call for safer schools for all young people. “I want to have at least one person be tolerant of other people and not be scared to be themselves,” said Melissa Crutcher, a 16-year-old student who helped organize the march.

Students and community members honor Larry King’s life with a candlelight vigil.

Across the nation, GSA, GLSEN and other school-based groups are organizing vigils and marches in memory of Larry King. In the spirit of Not In Our Town/Not In Our School, we urge you to speak out in your community.

Here are five things you can do:

1. HOLD A VIGIL or moment of silence to remember Larry King. A complete list of nationwide vigils can be found on www.rememberinglawrence.org.

2. TAKE A PLEDGE OR CIRCULATE A PETITION among students, teachers, and community members against bullying and harassment based on race, religion, and sexual identity.

3. USE YOUR VOICE. Write a letter/post a message to newspapers, school leaders and community groups about Larry King’s murder as an example of why school and community leaders need to take a stand against intolerance.

4. ASK STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS TO SPEAK OUT when they hear words of harassment.

5. TALK ABOUT IT. Start a conversation in your club or with your friends. Organize a Not In Our Town/Not In Our School screening of When Hate Happens Here: The Gwen Araujo Story.

Talk to each other about these issues. Tell us what you did and send us your photos of the events so we can include them in NIOT videos.