What I Learned from Singing in North Carolina

I traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina with 50 fellow members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC on Saturday to protest HB-2, a bill that tries to prevent the transgender community from being able to function in North Carolina society. 

If you want an explanation of why HB-2 makes no sense as anything other than a hate law, see this speech by US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who is suing North Carolina for its discriminatory bill.

Going in, I wasn't sure what I should expect. North Carolina isn't a particularly progressive place. Thankfully, it was a really positive experience. The people in Raleigh were incredibly gracious and kind, and it was so much fun to sing with my fellow chorus members. Not everyone was gracious, of course: I'd guess that for most chorus members, the most memorable part of our trip was singing in a park while a rather angry man shouted Leviticus at the chorus. The contrast certainly moved the people who witnessed it (see this article from Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexmatsuo/gay-mens-choru...)

“This particular moment in Moore Square was one of the most amazing things I’ve experienced. As the choir began to sing, anti-gay protesters, about 30 feet away, started to scream out their hateful rhetoric, demanding the deaths of LGBT people in accordance with their God’s laws. I’ve never heard such blatantly violent hate speech. I was in tears. And yet, these brave men stood directly in front of them and performed with pride, courage and conviction a song that perfectly sums up the battle. After such a horrible week, where anti-gay hate-speech and legislation created a monster who murdered 49 men and women, it’s a beautiful thing to see people stand up with courage in front of those that would see them dead and sing with kindness in their heart.”

What I keep thinking about, however, was singing “The Star Spangled Banner” outside the governor’s estate. It didn't even occur to me that he would come out, since the gate kept us so far from the house. We sang out, however, and the governor and his family came out to watch and listen! 

(Oh, and a big thanks to Dan Kaufman for taking some great photos! Unless otherwise noted, all of the photos were taken by him)

The governor of North Carolina is not exactly a considered a friend to the LGBT community. In addition to numerous policies that intentionally exclude and discriminate against the LGBT community, he even tried to shut down a production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Angels in America! As such, there was nothing particularly special for me about seeing the governor. What was special was that it reminded me why the LGBT community has made so much progress on civil rights over the past 15 years, despite setbacks like NC's bathroom bill. I was living in Cambridge, MA, in my sophomore year at MIT when same-sex marriage was legalized by the the Massachusetts Supreme Court. When it was legalized, a majority of people in the state opposed it. Less than a year later, however, a majority of people supported it. 10 years after it was legalized, 71% of Massachusetts residents supported it. Why? They saw gay and lesbian people in love, getting married, out in the open. The people of Massachusetts shared in the joy felt by the LGBT community, and they started to see LGBT people as just people—not so different from anyone else. 

So how does our progress in the fight for marriage equality connect to the luring out the governor of North Carolina with our rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner"? We made a connection. Just as marriage equality enabled the LGBT community to show that our love is just like any other love, singing our national anthem shows our fellow Americans that we are all patriots, and that we all love the United States of America. At the end of the day, we won't change hearts and minds by fighting the other side. We will change hearts and minds by making connections—by showing them that deep down, we share the same values. Deep down, we are all patriots.

It makes me wonder what our approach should be with activism of this sort. When we sing to our supporters, it's important for us to energize them with our passion for defending rights. But when go out to a less friendly environment and someone quotes Leviticus at us, perhaps we should sing hymns about love? When we go out and sing to/at hostile politicians, perhaps we should follow the national anthem with America, The Beautful. How do we connect to people who disagree with us in a way that changes their hearts and minds?

Lastly, a bit of fun! Here is our amazing artistic director, conducting us in front of the governor's estate (this awesome photo is by Tommy Adams, Jr.):

We had North Carolina barbecue! The brisket was particularly delicious. (And yes, I inherited my mothers ability to close my eyes during nearly every photo taken of me.) This photo is right after lunch at Clyde Cooper's Barbecue, where the staff was delightful and the food was delicious. (Group selfie by Calvin)

We also sang at the LGBT Center in Raleigh for a youth group, and they were a wonderful audience (though the first photo might be from warmups... Throughout the day, the fantastic members of the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus walked through Raleigh and performed with us (pictured here, about to perform for the youth group):

And a bit of brilliant (if impolite) advocacy that I found delightful:

If you read this far, then you probably (hopefully!) found this interesting. The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC will be able to do more interesting things if you support it with a donation, and then I'll be able to update you on more interesting things! You can make a donation using the red button at the top of the page. Any amount helps, and any amount makes a statement of support for this important organization!