Culture

Biden’s Inaugural Parade Features All-Transgender Chorus in a Historic First


 

The ongoing crisis wrought by COVID-19 and coup attempt at the Capitol precluded the blocks of crowded sidewalks and outdoor performances typical of an Inauguration Day parade on Wednesday. But the Presidential Inaugural Committee orchestrated a virtual edition to keep the spirit of the celebration alive, and in the process, they made a historic move to elevate the representation of transgender Americans.

The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles is slated to perform during the online “Parade Across America,” which will feature speakers and musicians from across the country as part of its goal to “highlight the diversity, heritage, and resilience of the country.” The event marks the first time an all-trans chorus will appear at a presidential inauguration.

“When president-elect Biden spoke on Transgender Day of Remembrance, he said something that resonated with me… He quoted that trans rights are human rights,” said Abdullah Hall, artistic director of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, in an interview with the Los Angeles Blade. Hall said that Biden’s expressed commitment to protecting the trans community inspired the chorus to pitch their performance as part of the inauguration festivities.

On the group’s website, Trans Chorus of Los Angeles claims to be America’s first all-trans chorus, consisting of trans, non-binary, intersex, gender non-conforming, and genderfluid individuals. Its stated objective is to “bring to the world awareness, understanding, power and victory for the trans community” through music.

“Our chorus is the most diverse out of all the other trans [choruses],” Hall added. “We do represent the whole BIPOC experience. At the inauguration, some kid in the Midwest is going to see trans people on the TV not hiding who they are. This gives me hope for the kids out there.”

The virtual parade, hosted by Scandal star Tony Goldwyn, is scheduled to begin around 3:15 pm E.T. on Wednesday. Other participants in the announced lineup include Jon Stewart, Andra Day, and a reunion of New Radicals to perform their 1998 hit song “You Get What You Give.” The “Parade Across America” will also feature a smorgasbord of marching bands, dance troupes, flag twirlers, and other performers.

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The performance may very well function as a part of the Biden-Harris administration’s prelude to pledged actions on LGBTQ+ rights. The new administration has said it will work to reverse Donald Trump’s ban on trans people serving openly in the military, stem the tide of the epidemic of hate violence that disproportionately targets transgender women of color, ban “conversion therapy” at the federal level, and pass the Equality Act to extend the Civil Rights Act’s protections to LGBTQ+ people.

On Tuesday, Biden also named Dr. Rachel Levine as his nominee to become the assistant secretary of health. Levine, who currently serves as Secretary of Health for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, would become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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