A Long Way From Home

In the fall of 2010, 18-year-old Tyler Clementi left home to attend Rutgers College. At the time he was just beginning to come out of the closet. One evening, shortly after arriving, he asked his roommate for privacy. Unknown to Tyler, the roommate aimed his computer's camera at Tyler's bed and live-streamed him in an intimate act with another man. A few days later, unable to cope with the subsequent humiliation and ridicule, Tyler ended his life.

Attempting to respond to her son's death, his mother, Jane Clementi, worked to create the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which seeks to combat all bullying. While the reality of her son having been the victim of cyber-bullying dominated news reports of the suicide, Jane began to consider the role of Tyler's upbringing in a conservative Christian church-which taught that homosexuality is a sin-in shaping the shame and inner conflict that led to his suicide.

In this episode, Jane Clementi and AFC Founder Carl Siciliano discuss Jane's devastation at the loss of her son, and the journey of faith which led her to take a stand against all forms of bullying. We especially focus on the endangerment and abuse done to LGBTQ+ youths by church teachings which shame and reject LGBTQ people, and explore ways to respond to and combat that harm.

Emanuel Xavier is an American Latinx poet, spoken word artist, author, editor, former homeless youth, and LGBTQ activist born and raised in New York City, in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian ancestry, he emerged from the ball culture scene and Nuyorican spoken word movement to become a successful writer and advocate for gay youth programs and Latinx literature. Once an underage hustler and club kid drug dealer, and later a hate crime survivor, he has performed, conducted spoken word poetry workshops, and produced benefits and events for LGBTQ youth organizations around the United States.

In this week's A Long Way From Home podcast, join Emanuel Xavier, an American Latinx poet, author, editor, former homeless youth, and LGBTQ activist, in a conversation about how LGBTQ people experience exile and displacement. Listen in as Emanuel discusses surviving homelessness on the Christopher Street piers in the 1980's while exploring ways of #FindingHome with AFC's Founder, Carl Siciliano.