Columbine Author Speaks at Conference

Abstract

Brooks Brown, the author of No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine High School, spoke at the 11th annual Reclaiming Youth International No Disposable Kids conference at Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn. Brown, who worked with Michael Moore on his Academy Award winning documentary, "Bowling for Columbine," said the letters he received from children and adults after the Columbine shootings prompted him to become involved in trying to make a difference in the lives of kids. Brown was a senior at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, when his classmates Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris entered the school and killed 12 students and a teacher. They wounded 21 others before they killed themselves. Junior high and high school were the worst years for anyone who wasn't "just right," Brown said, relating how he was bullied in junior high. The bullying increased in high school for Brown when he became involved in drama and debate. After the Columbine killings, Brown said he received letters from kids and adults all over the country who said, "I went through it." He decided to make a difference--that and because of Rachel Scott, one of the students who died at Columbine, he said. "She was a very compassionate person," he said. "One of the things she taught me is that every day should be a good day to die." The learning experiences I suffered through taught me more about life than anything," Brown said. "I wouldn't go back and change it because it gives me the opportunity to go out and be someone who changes things."