…from the Sun-Sentinel:

At school, his mother said, they teased him: “Gay! Faggot!”Around the neighborhood, a friend recalled, some mistook him for a young woman and catcalled — “Hey lil’ momma!” — and he ran, knowing what would happen when they came closer and realized he was a boy.Simmie Williams Jr., 17, lived a short life spent trying to find love and acceptance, family and friends said. In his search, he formed two identities, even used different names, to protect himself. But in the end, it wasn’t enough. He was shot and killed Feb. 22, as he stood on a corner known for transgender prostitutes.

Police are investigating his killing as a possible hate crime.
In the past decade, at least 172 people across the United States have been murdered because of their sexual orientation, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, an anti-hate advocacy group in New York. Williams’ photograph now appears on a Web site memorial for “Gay American Heroes” established by a Fort Lauderdale group that already lists seven more people killed this year.  They range from a 15-year-old California boy police say was shot Feb. 12 by a fellow student after he wore makeup and jewelry to school, to a 25-year-old New York prostitute authorities said was stabbed to death Feb. 9 by a client who discovered he was not a woman. Williams’ friends and his mother are calling for justice.

Yes, Williams was gay. He wore his hair in long braids and often dressed in feminine-looking jeans and shirts, they said.

He was also the older brother who made sure his siblings did their homework and got a bath at night. The favorite son who rubbed his mother’s feet after she worked a 12-hour shift at the hospital. The cook who studied the Food Network, wowed everyone with his recipe for fried chicken, and dreamed of culinary school. The friend who loaned money and gave food to whoever needed it in his neighborhood of tough times and empty pockets.

“His story, it needs to be heard so we can do something, so [another killing] doesn’t happen again,” said Williams’ mother, Denise King, through tears. “We want to stop this.”