Brandy Rose, left, her daughter Maddie and Maddie’s brother and grandmother. (Photo courtesy of Brandy Rose, via NBCNews.com)
A Go Fund Me page started late last weeks by an Oklahoma City woman has already brought in more than $25,000 to help a 12-year-old transgender girl and her family move from the small town of Achille, Okla., to Houston.
The page, with the header “Go where you feel the most alive,” notes that as of 4:20 p.m. today (Monday, Aug. 20) 1,069 people had donated $26,860 in five days. The initial goal of the fundraising page was $15,000
L Anne Babb established the account to help Brandy Rose, her daughter, Maddie, and the rest of their family move after adults commenting on a Facebook post, which originated with the mother of one of Maddie’s 7th grade classmates, threatening violence against the girl, NBC News reports.
Jamie Crenshaw originally posted an “alert” in an unofficial Facebook group for parents of Achille ISD students saying that Maddie had used the girls’ restroom at the school, rather than the staff restroom, as she had in previous years. Maddie had just started the school year in a different building and had not been told where the staff restroom was.
The threats started after a relative reposted Crenshaw’s original post to their own Facebook page.
People commenting on the post used words like “it” and “half-baked maggot” to refer to the preteen girl, and insisted on using inaccurate pronouns for her. Several suggested other parents should encourage their children to assault Maddie, and one particularly vile person suggested, “If he wants to be a female make him a female. A good sharp knife will do the job really quick.”
When news of the threats began to spread, school officials spoke out against the post and violent comments, expressing support for Maddie. They also shut down school for two days for the sake of safety. The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office stepped in to investigate the threats, and the FBI began an investigation into whether the threats constituted a hate crime.
A young man named Darius Douglas, who had never met the family, organized a rally outside the school to show support for Maddie, and LGBT activists and advocates around the country have spoken out to condemn the violence and offer their support.
Babb, who also had never met Maddie and her family, first saw the story about the threats against her on Twitter. She told NBC News she posted a link on her own Facebook with the comment that someone should start a Go Fund Me account to help the family move to a safer, more welcoming area. When her neighbor asked why Babb herself didn’t start the account, she decided she would do just that.
Brandi Rose told NBC News she hopes “we get our ducks in a row” so that they can move as soon as possible to Houston, where they have other family.
She told NBC News, “My daughter cried the other day saying that this is all her fault. I just want kids to know out there that the hatred is not their fault at all. There’s nothing wrong with them. God made them the way there are for a reason. God doesn’t make mistakes.
“To parents, accept your children,” she added. “Let them be who they are. All you can do is love your children and protect them as best you can.”
