Rosalie, Ashantay & Other Children Of Color Who Committed Suicide Because Of Bullying
When it comes to children of color, the racial divide among suicide rates have tragically increased.
Studies from the American Association of Suicidology show more adolescent black males have killed themselves. A total of 36.8 percent of black children make up the 11.6 percent group of lives lost, with suicide rates between the ages of 5 to 11 doubling in the past 20 years.
Girls of color are less likely to commit suicide, but the stories of Ashawnty Davis and Rosalie Avila have proved otherwise. The girls passed away within weeks of each other; Davis, 10 died by hanging on Nov. 29, while it is unknown how Avalia took her life. Her parents said their official goodbye on Dec. 4.
But what links the precious girls aren’t their suicides– both children were victims of bullying. Davis’ family explained the fifth-grader fell into a depression after a fight with a classmate was uploaded to the app Musical.ly. Avalia kept a journal, where she shared harrowing details about her tormentors and their jokes about her features. ” ‘They told me I was ugly today,’ ” her father Freddie recalled reading to CBS News earlier this month. ” ‘They were making fun of me today about my teeth.’ “
With social media controlling viral content, Keaton Jones’ bullying story dominated various channels over the weekend when his mother Kimberly Jones recorded her son recalling the moments he was teased in school. Like wildfire, the post caught the attention of millions, while GoFundMe pages for Ashawnty and Rosalie went unnoticed.
After it was revealed that everything wasn’t what it seemed with Keaton’s mother, those who followed the stories of Ashawnty and Rosalie were somewhat vindicated as the girls finally found their stories in the public conversation.
