Trailblazing trans choir to serenade America at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ virtual inaugural parade
Members of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles perform at a 2018 #MeToo March. (Sarah Morris/Getty)
The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles will perform in the virtual inauguration day parade for incoming president Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris today, which will take place at 11.30am EST: 4.30PM in the UK.
Joe Biden’s support for the LGBT+ community has been vocal, including him being the first president-elect in US history to name transgender people in his election victory speech.
As he is sworn in as president on Wednesday (20 January), many in the LGBT+ community will be glad to see the back of Donald Trump.
The online “Parade Across America” celebrating Biden’s inauguration reflects this, with the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles scheduled to perform as part of DJ Cassidy’s “Pass The Mic”, which will also feature Earth Wind & Fire, Nile Rodgers and Kathy Sledge.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, events that would usually take place in Washington DC on inauguration day are being held online.
Trans Chorus of Los Angeles was America’s first all-trans choir.
The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles was the first all-trans chorus in the US, made up of transgender, non-binary, intersex, gender-non-conforming and gender-fluid singers.
The LA choir was formed in 2015, and was one of six trans-affirming choirs to virtually perform for Trans Day of Resilience in November 2020.
In recent years, there’s been a shift from Trans Day of Remembrance to a day of resilience. Originally coined in 2015 to celebrate trans artists of colour by a youth group in New Orleans called Breakout, the idea has gained traction.
Last year, a new and unprecedented event in the US celebrated the resilience of the trans community. It was called ROSES: The Past, Present, and Future of Trans Resilience, and saw six trans-affirming choirs join together to create a live virtual performance on November 21.
Made up of THEM Youth Ensemble in Arizona; shOUT: Minnesota’s Trans and Gender Diverse Voices; Trans Chorus of Los Angeles; Phoenix: Colorado’s Trans Community Choir; Spectrum Singers (Spokane, WA); and the choirs of Transpose PDX (Portland, OR), the event was free but accepted donations for trans-led, trans-serving community organisations Black and Pink and the Okra Project.
