18-Year-Old Transgender Commits Suicide

A transgender teenager who was named homecoming king at a North Carolina high school died of an apparent suicide earlier this week, according to The Charlotte Observer.

The newspaper reported that Blake Brockington was named homecoming king at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte last year. The 18-year-old was known as a girl until his freshman year of high school.

The teenager was an advocate for the rights of sexual minorities, according to The Charlotte Observer. He often spoke of how difficult it was growing up transgender in Charlotte.