Publisher's Synopsis
In January 1990, two Staten Island men, Michael Taylor and Philip Sarlo, brutally murdered Jimmy Zappalorti - not for money, not for revenge, but out of prejudice and hatred: Jimmy was a gay man. Beaten. Stabbed. His body thrown in the Arthur Kill to hide the crime. But Jimmy was found - and humanity rallied around the inhumanity. Taylor and Sarlo tried to silence Jimmy for being gay - but they only succeeded in giving a voice to change. Jimmy's killing fanned a firestorm of outrage among citizens groups, politicians and the LGBT community that led to the signing on July 10, 2000, of The New York State Hate Crimes Bill - the first of its kind in the state. Mr. Zappalorti tells Jimmy's story in his own voice: that of a brother who was Jimmy's protector in life and champion after his death, whose efforts continue to keep Jimmy's legacy alive to help maintain the fight for LGBT rights. It is a profoundly personal and universal a story, as the struggle for LGBT rights and equality continues in the face of ignorance, prejudice and, sadly, violence.
