Blake Brockington, who was born a girl but identifies as a male, made history at his high school in North Carolina when he became the first transgender teen to be crowned homecoming king. According to WCNC, Brockington was nominated by students at East Meck High School and there were 13 other students in the running. In order to win the honor, Brockington had to participate in a fundraiser for Mothering Across Continents, an international non-profit working to build schools in South Sudan. Brockington raised $2,335.55 with the help from Time Out Youth, a local LGBT youth services agency.
From WCNC:
Brockington is no stranger to adversity. He says he is living with foster parents because his father is unable to accept his gender identity.
His foster parent, Donald Smith, told NBC Charlotte Brockington has the perseverance to overcome the challenges he faces. “He really is hoping that it helps those behind him going through the same challenges and struggles,” he said.
Teacher Bill Allen is the student advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance on campus. He says East Meck is known as a school of diversity. He says Brockington’s achievement is the first step in representing what many of the students believe.
“Our young people understand we are all different. We have all races, genders and religious backgrounds. We have kids representing 30-40 languages in this school and people learn to accept each other as they are, and I think this is an example of what is going to be happening in North Carolina,” he said.
Brockington plans to attend University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the fall.
article by Yesha Callahan via clutchmagonline.com