My Chemical Romance guitarist dedicates song to transgender teen Leelah Acorn
The lead guitarist of My Chemical Romance has dedicated a song to the memory of teenager Leelah Alcorn, after she took her own life.
Ray Toro, the former lead guitarist for emo band My Chemical Romance, which split last year, dedicated new track ‘For The Lost And Brave’ to the teen.
He wrote on his blog: “I wrote this song about a year ago, waiting to release it on my record when it was complete.
“There have been many times that I’ve almost put it out, but have always found a reason to hold it back. But lately there seems to be so much hate and misunderstanding in this world.
“As I’m sure many of you felt after reading the news of young Leelah Alcorn taking her own life, my heart sank. I felt sick.
“Yet another young life gone because of not being heard, not being understood, and not being unconditionally loved for who they truly were.
“After hearing her story, and reading her final Tumblr post, I finally felt it was time to share this song.
“It is time we learn to accept each other for who we truly are. Being seen, heard, and truly loved as our authentic selves is something we all want, and something we all deserve.”
Ms Alcorn’s Tumblr blog was deleted yesterday – erasing her own personal record of her gender transition. However, several activists have begun to host their own archived copies of the blog, which was viewed thousands of times after her death.
Listen to the clip below:
