TDOR VIGIL 2007-2017

How a confrontation with a bigot at Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil motivated Tracee to ensure that no one attending future vigils would ever have a similar experience.

It was truly ironic that during Tracee's very first time attending the Atlanta Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil on November 18, 2006, which is an annual vigil on November 20th that's internationally observed to memorialize Trans, Gender Non-Conforming and Non-Binary people whom have been murdered.

The vigil where the incident occurred was also being organized by another organization that shall remain nameless to protect the living was at the State Capitol during those days, which shuddered its doors the following year.

Making a long story short, according to Tracee, she was minding her own business videotaping the montage of names of the murdered trans people that year, which was scrolling on a large outside screen on the lawn, when out of no where she heard a female's voice behind her making bigoted comments about someone else.

 Tracee wondered who that person was talking about in such a entitled racist manner, at a Trans vigil of all places. When Tracee turned around to see what was going on, to her dismay, the person whom shall also remain nameless was in a wheel, seemingly freshly released from the hospital, whom was making those comments towards Tracee.

Not going into too many details, the racist was put in her place on the spot, never making that mistake again. Thankfully before things got too far out of hand, Tracee’s friend and activism mentor Betty Couvertier observed what was going down, stepping in and intervening before Tracee really lost her religion that cold December night at the Georgia State Capitol.

Also according to Tracee, what made the experience so disgustingly sad was that the individual making the racist comments towards her was also Trans, and a member of the organization hosting the vigil.

Looking on the bright side, Tracee assumed organizing the vigil the following year in 2007, and was happy that she'd brought the community together for ten years until her 2017 retirement, while purposefully making everyone attending feel welcomed, comfortable and wanted.