Essence magazine has a new interview with Sirdeaner Walker, mother of last week’s suicide victim Carl Walker-Hoover. The interview brings in some new insights that need to be spread on this Day of Silence.

ESSENCE.COM: You’ve received a lot of support from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Do you believe Carl was struggling with his sexuality?
WALKER: No, there was no indication of that. Carl was just 11 years old. I don’t even think he reached puberty yet. His voice hadn’t started to change. This is bigger than a gay issue. In fact, I’m worried about one of Carl’s friends who is being picked on as well because she’s overweight. That’s why it’s bigger than a gay issue. These kids will tease you over anything.

ESSENCE.COM: At what point did you go to the administration and ask for help?
WALKER: It was around October last year when we started to see a change in his behavior. We had weekly appointments with the guidance counselor and she set up a grid so each teacher could report on his behavior. Every time I approached his teachers when there was a problem, I told them we can come up with a plan; I will punish him at home. He really liked the Nintendo DS, so I started taking away things that he really liked until I started to see some improvement in school. About a month ago, I got a call from the school and they told me that he was being disruptive in class. When I asked Carl about it he said there was a sixth-grade gang that threatened to kill him and beat him up and that he was scared.

ESSENCE.COM: What happened on the day Carl died?
WALKER: Usually I drive Carl to the bus stop, but that morning I had an early conference call at work. When I got home that evening, he was sitting on the couch with his backpack. He has a big, rolling backpack that apparently knocked into a TV stand in his classroom that day. Carl told me that the TV [accidentally] hit a student and she went off saying, “I’m going to kill you.” And that’s how it started. Carl came home very upset thinking he was going to be suspended. I started making supper and then he just went upstairs. I called his name and he didn’t answer me. I went up to get him and that’s when I found him.

ESSENCE.COM: There were hundreds of people who came out to Carl’s funeral. What did that mean to you?
WALKER: I just felt so good. It was a celebration of his life. I knew that if God brought me through breast cancer, he will bring me through this and that’s what I hold on to. I know that God has something good planned through all this. I know Carl loved the Lord. I know that he loved his life.

As Ms. Walker says here and as I’ve pointed out in previous posts about his death, the question of Carl’s sexuality is completely irrelevant. This is a case of physical and psychological abuse, which we call “bullying” to make it more acceptable. But abuse should never be accepted, never be excused as “boys will be boys”, and never allowed to continue unabated.

Homophobia is often the tool of choice for abusers, but it’s far from the only one. Weight, intelligence, religion, and race are all weapons that adults have a responsibility to remove from the abuser. There shouldn’t be one more kid who feels like he has no hope because other kids threatened him and the adults wouldn’t help.