Gay youth activist Joseph Jefferson commits suicide

Brooklyn-based gay activist Joseph Jefferson committed suicide this weekend by hanging himself. Jefferson was a 2002 graduate of New York City’s Harvey Milk High School, worked for Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), the People of Color in Crisis (POCC) and most recently as an assistant for NYC LGBT event promoters Laurence Pinckney and James Saunders. Jefferson was only 26 years old.

He shared this final message with his Facebook friends:

“I could not bear the burden of living as a gay man of color in a world grown cold and hateful towards those of us who live and love differently than the so-called ’social mainstream.’ Belonging is one of the basic human needs, when people feel isolated and excluded from a sense of communion with others, they suffer.


“I have been an advocate for my peers and most importantly youth because most have never had a deep emotional attachment to anyone. They don’t know how to love and be loved in return. The need to be loved can sometimes translate to the need to belong to someone or something. Driven by that need….. Most will do anything to belong.”