LGBTQ+ community, allies in Macon worried about the ‘death of hope’ after election
Queer people and allies gathered Tuesday in Macon to mourn a loss of hope rippling through the community as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, leaving them worried about the potential for legal changes that would restrict LGBTQ+ rights.
Tears streamed down faces at a candlelit vigil of about 30 people, some as young as 5 years old, on Cotton Avenue Plaza around 6 p.m., a week after Election Day.
While Tuesday’s event wasn’t focused on Trump’s win, attendees told The Telegraph in interviews that Trump’s election did cause them concern for LGBTQ+ rights.
Scott Mitchell is the founder of Macon Pride and owner of Bohemian Den and Sweet Eleanor’s, though he led the vigil Tuesday as a private resident, as the event wasn’t connected to Pride or his businesses. He addressed a question at the top of some minds: who died?
“It can mean death of an idea, death of hope,” Mitchell said. “The stress levels among every person I know right now are at this level up here.”
Trump’s stances on LGBTQ+ issues have been inconsistent, though he and his allies have expressed they may draw back the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to media reports, and further restrict or ban gender-affirming medical care especially for youth, their health providers and educators, among other conservative plans. Gender-related policies outlined in Trump’s Agenda 47 include more extreme rhetoric than his first term, in which he reportedly passed more anti-LGBTQ+ policies than any other president.
Mitchell told The Telegraph the event served as a moment to pause before taking action. He and other local advocates plan to propose a local LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination ordinance to the Macon-Bibb County Board of Commissioners in early 2025.
It would include protections for trans people in workplaces, housing and public accommodations. The county previously rejected similar legislative attempts to protect the community.
Three siblings, a 7-year-old and 5-year-old twins, scurried around the crowd handing out white candles.
Their mother – Sara Pugh Montgomery, who is a senior pastor at Centenary United Methodist Church – is an ally who said she teaches her kids simple lessons about justice, love and kindness.
Seven-year-old Ruth Montgomery recently learned about the presidential election in school.
“She asked me about what we’re going to be doing in the world, and I said, ‘We’re just going to be loving people as much as we can,’” Sara Pugh Montgomery said. “When people aren’t being treated fairly, we want to stand up for them.”
A man in the crowd lit his candle and passed the flame to those around him.
Mitchell choked up as he reflected on how far Macon has come to be an inclusive and safe environment for LGBTQ+ people since he was a kid in Middle Georgia 30 years ago.
Moving to Atlanta was “the only answer,” he told attendees.
“Every gay person I know from Valdosta to Rome, moved to Atlanta when we graduated high school,” Mitchell said. “It’s what you did. There was no other option if you wanted to survive.”
Instead of an obligatory moment of silence, Mitchell asked everyone to take a look around.
“(My husband and I) go on a walk every day and we have been remembering the houses and the (campaign) signs in the yard,” Mitchell said. “Remember who our people are because I believe maybe one day we’re going to have to do that.”
Andrea Cooke, development director for Macon Mental Health Matters attending Tuesday’s event outside her professional capacity, said she felt let down when she learned Trump was elected.
“I felt a great sense of loss and not being able to necessarily vocalize how it feels to be so let down by a process that I firmly believe in,” Cooke said. “Being a mental health professional, I had to get myself together so I could support the people around me.”
Cooke closed the vigil by singing “her favorite protest song,” as Mitchell described it.
“We shall overcome. We shall overcome some day. Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome one day,” Cooke crooned.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to properly reflect that Scott Mitchell’s businesses, and Macon Pride, were not affiliated with Tuesday’s event.
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 1:41 PM.
CORRECTION: The Human Rights Campaign Atlanta was not involved in organizing this event. This information was incorrect in a previous version of this story.