Tribute to Tracy Ryan

written by J Leigh Oshiro-Brantly

There are few people whose lives directly reflect their value system. Tracy Ryan was one of those rare breeds of citizen/politician/advocate who was uncompromising and actually lived out her principles in a way that garnered little fanfare. She was direct. She was passionate. Tracy fought for transgender people like her. She fought for sex workers, for survivors, for people to live with dignity, respect, and support. She did it tirelessly and with a kind of singularity of vision relegated to a watcher on the walls, one who can see the storm coming on the horizon and those unknowingly in harm’s way. Personally, she struck me as a protector. She cared deeply for her community and it showed up within 10 seconds of talking to her. 

My experience with Tracy was that she was profoundly intellectual. In her fight for social justice, she would not be ignored and she connected advocacy dots that others did not. In the bills she fought for or against, she seemed to catch complexities, real-world nuance that required deep thought and evidence-based discourse. She was a true harm-reductionist. She was also a force of nature to her opposition in the Hawaii State Legislature. She was armed with more statistics and talking points than was reasonable or necessary for the average bear. 

In short, she was fascinating. Although I met her right before the pandemic and we spent little time together in person, I am proud to have known her, to have worked with her, and ultimately to have learned from this trans and sex worker rights powerhouse. Thank you for carrying a torch so brightly, Tracy. You were a foundational pillar in the fight for decriminalization of sex work and your legacy is alive in the movement. 

To learn more about Tracy's life and legacy, visit this tribute post on Civil Beat.