In 2010, Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi took his own life on the George Washington Bridge after being outed and cyberbullied by his roommate. And this weekend, Clementi’s family will return to that spot to join with two men who have spent the last month bringing awareness to LGBT bullying across the country.
Ronnie Kroell, 30, and Elliot London, 32, who live in Los Angeles, started Friend Movement, a nonprofit organization dedicated to showing anti-bullying messages through art and media.
In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, the Illinois natives began a 921-mile walk to bring awareness to the causes and effects of bullying.
Starting on Oct. 5, they set out for Chicago through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, stopping in Philadelphia Tuesday.
The walk will wrap up Nov. 10 in New York City, with Kroell and London crossing the bridge from New Jersey with Clementi’s mom and brother.
Although the two cite Clementi’s story as the main inspiration for their journey, they also have stories of their own about being bullied.
Kroell said he was often called “faggot” in middle school and said he was traumatized by the bullying that went on in his classrooms.
“School didn’t feel safe at times because I was always hiding behind corners to see if the bully was going to be there to beat me up or not,” he said. “They used to play Monkey in the Middle with my shoe and do some pretty nasty things. One day when I was walking home from school, three guys ganged up on me and pulled my pants down and just ridiculed me in front of everyone.”
London had a similar experience and said he often endured antigay slurs, even though he did not understand what the words meant.
“My worst experience was the school bus. There was the kid that always made fun of me and one day he spit on me. That’s when I shut down,” he said.
Although London jokes that he started the walk to lose weight, he said the main reason was to show that bullying is an ongoing issue that should not be ignored.
“We believe that bullying is not just a media fad, that is it something real and tangible. We wanted to bring attention to the month of October with something special, so we decided to be adventurous and decided to walk across the country,” he said.
Instead of a straight-through trip, London said the pair added an extra 100 miles to visit places like Pittsburgh and State College and took part in a number of speaking engagements. They placed a purple ribbon every mile they walked — to represent the life of a young person lost to suicide from bullying.
While in Philadelphia, the two placed a purple ribbon at the Liberty Bell and also visited the National Constitution Center.
The pair has been averaging 20-30 miles a day. On Tuesday, they walked into town from King of Prussia and headed to Trenton in the afternoon.
London said they have been fortunate to have had good weather conditions throughout the past month.
They try to take side streets whenever possible, which has allowed them to come into contact with a wealth of diverse passersby.
“We had a family waiting at a bus stop and they asked, ‘What are the purple ribbons for?’ and we told them and they thanked us and gave us a big hug and thanked us for protecting their kids,” Kroell said. “It was really cool and they tied ribbons with us.”
It has been the stories they’ve heard on the road that Kroell said have had the most impact on him and London.
“Our lives will never be the same after this trip. Between the people we’ve met, the stories they’ve shared with us, the tragedies they’ve lived through, there is still hope in the community,” he said. “They are just trying to figure out what that looks like and for us, that is just taking a different approach. The opposite of bullying is friendship, so let’s focus on how to be better friends with each other to solve the problem.”
There has also been ample opportunity for education.
London said he was surprised to find out how many adults still think bullying is only physical.
“They don’t understand the concept now that it can be totally behind the screens, so it’s important for us to create this dialogue and see how people are being bullied and how we can help them,” he said.
The ultimate lesson the pair is taking away from the journey, Kroell said, is that people need to embrace themselves.
“I think what we can learn is that if we all can be better friends to ourselves, if you can look into the mirror and say, ‘I love you,’ you walk through the world a little differently,” he said. “Everyone should be celebrated and in this country we were founded on individuality and diversity. We need to embrace it and celebrate it.”
Kroell and London will meet at the George Washington Bridge at 10 a.m. Nov. 10. The pair is hoping for a crowd of over 100 to walk over the bridge with them at noon.
For more information, visit www.friendmovement.org.