Executive DiVincenzo, LGBTQ Advisory Board Host LGBTQ Pride Month Celebration

Essex County celebrated its LGBTQ community members as it kicked off LGBTQ Pride Month, but this festive occasion did more than honor those working with rights issues, but offered comfort to a family who lost their son to anti-gay cyberbullying.

Executive Joseph DiVincenzo presented to Jane, James and Joseph Clementi, relative of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers student who committed suicide in 2010 after being subjected to anti-gay harassment and bullying online, with the Pride of Essex County Award at the Tuesday night event for their work with the community. The family went on to found the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which works with LGBTQ youth and families and advocates against bullying.

“I wish Tyler could have had the acceptance that he craved so much,” James Clementi said of his brother, who jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his college roommate recorded and posted a video online about Tyler’s relationship with another man.

James came out himself after his brother’s suicide in a People Magazine article. Tyler and James’ mother Jane accepted the award on behalf of her husband and the boys’ father Joseph, saying she was proud to be part of an effort to create a cultural shift toward kindness.

“We want to make sure there are no other Tylers in this world,” she said.

The Tyler Clementi Foundation creates safe, inclusive spaces for LGBTQ youths and families and encourages the creation of such spaces at schools, in neighborhoods, in the home and online. Executive DiVincenzo praised the family for their dedication to saving lives.

“Just think about how many lives you are saving,” DiVincenzo said during the ceremony. “I know Tyler is looking down on you today proud.”

Photo by Glen Frieson.