On November 2, 2017, a tearful man called 911, telling the dispatcher he had shot his teenage son. Wendell Melton claimed that during an altercation with his 14-year-old son, Giovanni Melton, his gun accidentally went off, striking Giovanni in the chest. Giovanni was rushed to the hospital, but he did not survive.

After Giovanni’s death, multiple people came forward with information indicating the killing was not an accident, instead the deliberate action of a homophobic father who couldn’t tolerate having a gay son.

In next week’s episode, we’ll hear from Giovanni’s mom, Veronica Melton, who has channeled her grief and anger into advocating for LGBTQ+ youth of color with the hope of preventing tragedies like her family’s.

This is part one of the heartbreaking story of Giovanni Melton. 

Links discussed in this episode:

***Urgent! Please see this post for more information on how to contact Judge Michelle Leavitt before Friday, July 1, 2022 to make your voice heard for Wendell Melton’s sentencing hearing! https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1242273556547448&set=a.121744861933662 ***

Giovanni Melton Foundation website: https://giovannimelton.org/ 

Giovanni Melton Foundation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiovanniMeltonFoundation.org/

Giovanni Melton Foundation on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giovannimeltonfoundation/?hl=en

PFLAG: https://pflag.org 

National Black Justice Coalition: https://nbjc.org

Counter Narrative Project: https://thecounternarrative.org 

Strong Family Alliance: https://strongfamilyalliance.org

Moms Demand Action: https://momsdemandaction.org/ 

Everytown Survivor Network: https://www.everytown.org/organization/survivor-network/

National Action Network: https://nationalactionnetwork.net/

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This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

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