Worst Stewards Of Children!
By: Tommy “Tj” Sotomayor

NEW ORLEANS —

“My daughter was amazing. She was strong, quirky, goofy. She wanted to be a chef when she grew up,” said Antoinette Perkins as she stood in front of poster boards memorializing her daughter.

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Tierra Perkins loved cooking and baking so much that everyone called her muffin.

She was a beautiful, loving young girl who desperately wanted to be accepted by her peers.

“They never let my daughter forget that she was not going to be accepted,” said Antoinette Perkins. “From her braces, to talking about her weight, to her clothes and her hair…they never accepted her and unfortunately for my daughter that’s what she wanted.”

Last weekend Tierra died by suicide.

Her mother said the bullying had been ongoing, but Tierra didn’t want to change schools.

All her siblings were there. The 8th grader at Akili Academy was looking forward to high school next year.

“She was willing to stick it out, but it was too much for my daughter,” Antoinette said. “Do you know what that feels like? To pick your baby up when she is bleeding and you try to help her and you can’t?”

As Antoinette Perkins led a Stop The Bullying March down the streets of New Orleans, she pleaded with other parents.

“It’s not the teachers, because the teachers are not here to raise your children; it’s the parents. Raise your children right. Let them know because you are different does not mean you are awkward.”

The march at the school drew scores of people to raise awareness to the dangers of bullying.

For Antionette Perkins, at times, the moment was overwhelming. What words could not say, silence and sadness spoke volumes.

“I just wish she could have seen all these people out here that love her,” said Mercedes Hamilton, Tierra’s older sister.

Antionette Perkins said the march was not only for her daughter, but so no other mother should have to walk in her shoes.

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