03/07/2008
Simmie Williams, Jr. Buried in South Florida
The Miami Herald paints a heartbreaking portrait of a mother, Denise King, and her son, Simmie Lewis Williams Jr., who was found gunned down off Fort Lauderdale's Sistrunk Boulevard on February 22.
"Of course a mother always knows. And he was very sure of his sexuality," King told the Herald.`"I just told him that he was my son, that I would never turn my back on him and that I loved him. Because I did. I do.'"
Pictured here, Patricia Young, a close friend.
The Herald: "Williams Jr., 17, was buried over the weekend wearing a handsome beige suit and white gloves. His mother, Denise King, had searched to find the right outfit. It would be the first and only time she would see a suit on her oldest boy. Simmie, who was openly gay, was found fatally shot early Feb. 22 in a scrappy lot off Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. He was found dressed as a woman. He was buried dressed as a man. 'Simmie's friends asked me if I was going to dress him as a woman for the funeral. I said no. I gave birth to a boy, and my baby would be buried as a boy,'' says King, 38, her thin voice suddenly firm. 'I don't know . . . what he did or didn't do across town. What I know is that he was gay and didn't deserve to be gunned down because of who he was.'"
Victim dressed as a woman, but `buried as a boy' [miami herald]
Previously
Hundreds Attend South Florida Vigil for Slain Gay Teen [tr]
Is Fort Lauderdale Mayor Naugle Responsible for Anti-Gay Hate? [tr]
Gay Florida Teen Gunned Down in Fort Lauderdale [tr]
Posted 8:32 AM EST by Andy Towle in Crime, Florida, News | Permalink
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r.i.p., my darling...
Posted by: the queen | Mar 7, 2008 9:35:10 AM
May he rest in peace, and, his family find some sort of solace and justice by having this vile, cowardly murderer caught and convicted.
Posted by: Sebastian | Mar 7, 2008 9:36:48 AM
Heartbreaking...RIP,darling!
Posted by: Shabaka | Mar 7, 2008 9:39:46 AM
RIP, baby boy.
Posted by: banjiboi | Mar 7, 2008 10:01:18 AM
RIP
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Mar 7, 2008 10:04:50 AM
If only more mothers could have been as understanding as this woman. I grieve for her as well as for her son.
Posted by: The Milkman | Mar 7, 2008 10:33:37 AM
No mother should have to go through what Simmie's mother is going through--heartbreaking.
The Miami Herald could have chosen a less tacky headline. The article itself shows some sensitivity but the headline screams tabloid sales technique.
Posted by: Ernie | Mar 7, 2008 11:09:22 AM
Bon Voyage Simmie.
Posted by: Giovanni | Mar 7, 2008 11:14:34 AM
So tragic. I'm moved by her words and hope they touch a lot of people's hearts.
Posted by: Aman Chaudhary | Mar 7, 2008 3:52:19 PM
Admittedly, I had the same first reaction to the headline, but no, it's the right one. This was a 17 year old, a child, clearly his mother's child and confidant. He was not yet a man, nor will he ever grow to become one. At the end of the day, like every mother with that bond to her child, made deeper from the adversity difference brings, she will mourn and live with his potential, his memory, but not with him and what the future held for him. There is little in the world more tragic.
Posted by: Bill | Mar 7, 2008 8:29:58 PM