In 2009, her name was cleared. The victim had used her real name in a school assignment, she said, and implicated Dania in her murder. Dania never had a chance to be charged.Postscript: Fourteen years later, on December 19, 2010, Dania Atkinson was shot dead outside her girlfriend's home in Memphis, Tennessee. Officials said she was fatally shot by her live-in girlfriend, Tasha Spann, after an argument.Gayle McCullough, left, and Vonda Atkinson are pictured at the National Gay and Lesbian Memorial in Washington, DC, in December 2005. It marked the first time ever that lesbian and gay rights leaders and dignitaries gathered to honour victims of hate crimes. Photograph: Steve Schooner/APBut not so fastFor the 20th anniversary of Spann's murder in 2013, Gayle Atkinson and Vonda Atkinson made the trip to Memphis to speak about their cousin. They found it surreal to be back in the city they left when Dania disappeared, although they were not surprised by the grief and anger they saw."Some of the high school kids had lied on their parents and said she was going on a trip," Gayle Atkinson said. "They were ready to murder the family."In 2015, Gayle Atkinson was diagnosed with lung cancer. She says she did not find out until after her youngest daughter died that she had a pre-existing condition."For 20 years I kept my mouth shut because I did not want to give up," Atkinson said. "It was hard to accept it, because I thought I did everything right."However, as she has fought her illness, she has not given up the fight for justice. She says she and Vonda have had offers from TV producers and films, but they are being careful about what they say publicly."We will go along for the ride," Gayle Atkinson said. "But we're not doing it to fight, we're going to do it to help the children who don't have the strength to do it on their own. We want to give them the opportunity to have a voice."Lynn Cole travelled to Memphis to learn about the family's struggle, and write this article with the help of NPR's Digital News DeskYa-hoo! You can join the conversation by reaching out to LGBTQ2+ people by emailing [email protected]. 

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