On Oct. 6, Brett Kavanaugh joined the U.S. Supreme Court. Also on this day, singers from the Resistance Chorus Silicon Valley met at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Los Gatos (15980 Blossom Hill Rd., Los Gatos). Founded in Sept. 2017 as a response to the results and ripple effects of the 2016 election, the Resistance Chorus Silicon Valley has since performed at a number of public events.
One of the songs the group rehearsed today was the soothing and hymn-like “Singing for Our Lives” (written by Holly Near, chorus arrangement by Ruth Huber). Verses began with “We are a gentle angry people,” “We are a justice seeking people,” “We are young and old together,” and “We are gay and straight together.” Each verse ended with “…and we are singing, singing for our lives.”
“I was looking for what the best role for me would be after the election,” said David Creighton, Founder and Director of the Resistance Chorus Silicon Valley. “I remembered the anti-war protest singing from my youth and looked for a group in the Bay Area that was doing that. I couldn’t find one. So I started the Resistance Chorus to fill the need. We sing both traditional and contemporary protest songs.”
Laura Burns, Outreach Coordinator for the chorus, joined this group because she enjoys singing and wants to be with like-minded people seeking an outlet to constructively express their frustrations.
“The Resistance Chorus has seven key values that are non-partisan but just progressive human values. The first one is justice, the next one is freedom, and there’s peace, integrity, inclusion, dignity and stewardship,” Burns said. “We sing at protests and marches that are aligned with our values. We made our debut at the Women’s March in San Jose back in January 2018 — 45 of our singers sang four songs that day. We sang at March for Our Lives in San Jose on March 24 earlier this year. We also sang at two rallies for Keep Families Together. We were part of the San Jose rally as well as the Mountain View rally. We coordinate with the organizers of the marches we attend.”
From an initial membership of about a dozen, the chorus has grown to over 60 voices.
“We are an eclectic group of South Bay residents determined to work for a better and more just world,” Burns said. “We encourage our fellow activists in public places in the spirit of protest singers of the past.”
Although Dawn Isis had never sung in a chorus prior to joining this group, this retiree appreciates the stimulation of learning something new.
“I love all the protest songs from the past,” Isis said. “I feel like it’s my obligation as a citizen and human being to stand up for what is right. I grew up in Washington D.C. during the 1960s. It was the time of the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War protests and when Nixon was President. I attended protests then too.”
The Resistance Chorus Silicon Valley meets every three weeks for rehearsals. No singing experience is necessary to join. Visit www.facebook.com/resistance.chorus or email resistance.chorus@gmail.com for more information.