A new documentary that chronicles the journey of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus through the Deep South will have its local premiere later this month.
"Gay Chorus Deep South" follows the 300 members of San Francisco's celebrated gay choir as they take their message of acceptance and love to Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and elsewhere, which was, for some of them, a difficult homecoming.
Chris Verdugo, executive director of the chorus, told KCBS Radio he was surprised by how much acceptance the singers found in the heart of Dixie, and how strong the local LGBTQ activism is there.
"That was the eye-opener," he said. "Now let's not sugarcoat this. The South is the South, and it has its issues around LGBTQ equality and rights, but the community there is fighting."
The chorus decided to venture into the Deep South after the election of Donald Trump as president. The group marched across the fabled Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
"I walked across that bridge in tears," Verdugo said. "It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. We were the first organization that we can find to actually have a gay flag photographed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge."
The choir members met with local families, sang in churches and confronted anti-gay demonstrators. Verdugo thinks the film's powerful message of love and hope will resonate with Bay Area audiences.
"We need to listen more. We'll find middle ground once we listen more, and that perception that we have of 'the others' just falls away."
