What actions youth can take:
1. Request this page as a My Space friend: Make sure Lawrence King is not forgotten.
2. Organize an action within your own school to fight again anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling. Here's how:
A. Organize a Day of Silence to raise awareness of the silence that LGBT and ally students face every day - www.dayofsilence.org.
B. Find and support allies in your school - www.dayofsilence.org/ally.
C. Find out about your school's safe schools policies by setting up a meeting with your principal.
You can reach out to the GLBT NATIONAL YOUTH TALKLINE 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743). The GLBT National Youth Talkline provides telephone and email peer-counseling, as well as factual information and local resources for cities and towns across the United States.
If you need any additional support or would like to talk to someone, please contact the TREVOR PROJECT HOTLINE at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).
Things Adult Organizers Can Do Right Now:
1. Partner with local organizations to organize a community action or vigil in memory of Lawrence and other youth who were lost to violence based upon sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. The Ventura County Rainbow Alliance organized a vigil Friday night, February 15, in Ventura County, where Lawrence lived. Many other vigils are expected to take place in California and the rest of the country over the course of the next week.
2. Help others learn about Lawrence. Share his story with your peers, friends and family, and through media such as blogs, listserves, letters to the editor, press releases and more.
3. Prepare resource information, such as community organizations and counseling/wellness services, for LGBT youth and allies to contact. This is an emotional and scary time for a lot of people, and it is important to know where to go for support.
4. Get involved with local organizations that work to create safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. If there is not one in your community, start one!
Actions Educators can take:
Here are some resources available for educators to use around this issue.
Ten things Educators can do... To ensure that their classrooms are safe spaces for ALL students. You can download this resource and more here:
Ten things Educators can do
Zero Indifference: A How-to Guide to Ending Name-Calling in Schools. You can download this resource here:
Zero Indifference
