Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:34 p.m. on March 13 after the medical examiner ruled that Nex Benedict’s manner of death was suicide. Additional resources have been included in this story.
A letter sent Wednesday to the Oklahoma Legislature, signed by over 350 individuals, civil rights groups and 2SLGBTQ+ organizations, called for an investigation of the Oklahoma Department of Education and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ impeachment.
The letter was organized by Freedom Oklahoma, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign and GLSEN following the death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary student from Owasso. The organizations wrote in the letter that Walters has caused a “culture of violence and hate against the 2SLGBTQI+ community in Oklahoma schools.” On March 13, the medical examiner released its ruling that the manner of Benedict’s death was suicide.
Since Walters was elected as state superintendent in 2022, he has called for books featuring 2SLGBTQ+ perspectives to be reviewed and removed from school libraries and banned schools from allowing students to update their gender identities on their permanent records.
He also appointed Chaya Raichik to the new Oklahoma Library Media Advisory Committee. Raichik is the founder of the social media account Libs of TikTok, where she posts videos often targeted at members and allies of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Raichik and Walters were recently criticized after one of Raichik’s posts led to a bomb threat at Ellen Ochoa Elementary School in Tulsa on Aug. 22.
Walters has been under scrutiny from members of the state Legislature since he took on his current position. House Minority Leader Rep. Cyndi Munson (D-Oklahoma City) wrote in a statement to OU Daily that there are many different parts of the state Board of Education needing investigation, but a special focus needs to be placed on Walters.
“It is not a coincidence that violence and pain toward minority communities has only snowballed under his leadership,” Munson wrote.
House Representative Jacob Rosecrants (D-Norman) has criticized anti-2SLGBTQ+ legislation in the past, including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022. He expressed his support for the letter Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In GLAAD’s press release, Freedom Oklahoma’s Executive Director Nicole McAfee wrote Walters is “out of touch with the needs of Oklahoma students, teachers, and families” based on his actions throughout his time as state superintendent.
“All Oklahoma students deserve the safety to show up and learn as their full selves, and that is not possible so long as Ryan Walters is allowed to remain in his position,” McAfee wrote. “There will never truly be justice for a dead student, but Nex’s community deserves, at minimum, a full investigation of the State Department of Education, and an end to the Ryan Walters regime.”
The letter calling for Walter’s removal has been signed by a variety of local and national organizations as well as some public figures, including Demi Lovato and Kristen Chenoweth, according to GLAAD's press release. People can add their names to the letter through the Human Rights Campaign’s website.
PFLAG Norman is among the organizations signed to the letter. In a statement to OU Daily, PFLAG Norman President Jerry Arias-Watson wrote that the letter is the result of Walters’ actions as state superintendent and the group will continue to support Oklahoma’s 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Since Nex Benedict’s death became national news, the Rainbow Youth Project, a social welfare group aimed at supporting 2SLGBTQ+ communities, reported they have received over 900 mental health crisis contacts from Oklahoma youth, according to the GLAAD press release.
Oklahoma residents have hosted candlelight vigils and protests in support of Benedict and the rest of Oklahoma’s 2SLGBTQ+ community since their death.
“When you discriminate against some Oklahomans, you discriminate against all Oklahomans,” Munson wrote.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Peggy Dodd. Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
