Can singing in a choir help young gay people to find a sense of safety and belonging? Sia Mzizi believes it can. Let's find out how his Mzansi Gay Choir in Johannesburg celebrates human rights and self-expression.
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00:00This choir is raising its voice for change as it not only serves as a home for talented
00:14musicians but also provides a safe space and family for its members.
00:19Why?
00:20Because this is the Mzanzi Gay Choir in Johannesburg.
00:24Being a musician or being an artist is a form of activism.
00:29It's always about conscientizing people, it's always about change-making.
00:38Choirs are a popular part of South African culture, but why have churches proven to be
00:43challenging spaces for these singers?
00:50It's sad that the only place of worship that we have is within ourselves as the queer community
00:54because most churches are not very welcome to us as the queer community.
00:58That's why I fell in love with the Mzanzi Gay Choir.
01:00It's that there are people like me, that people that walk like me, that talk like me,
01:04that are in the same space and we share these common sentiments.
01:07We all loved music.
01:08Being in that space made me feel like I was at home.
01:14Before we find out how the Mzanzi Gay Choir manages to provide a safe space for the queer
01:19community, let's ask CIM Zizi, its leader, how he managed to run the first all-gay choir
01:25not only in the country, but on the continent.
01:29The Mzanzi Gay Choir has been running for more than 10 years under the Tami Desh Foundation.
01:35Our choir consists of 12 members.
01:37We do everything.
01:38Give us choral, give us pop, give us piano, give us R&B, soul music.
01:42We do it.
01:46But how do some of its other members perceive its value?
01:51It's not the same one as the one.
01:53The choir made me realise that I can be myself without even thinking what other people are
01:59going to say about my sexuality or myself or how I act.
02:03It's literally the blessing to be part of the choir.
02:07We face challenges, we face judgement, and being part of the choir, we built this safe space.
02:21I feel like this choir now expresses different types of masculinity within being gay and being queer.
02:40As gay, we have so many categories.
02:42We have feminine gay, we have masculine gay.
02:45I'm supported for being who I am.
02:50As the leader of the Mzanzi Gay Choir, Sia grew up in Kuatema, a township east of Johannesburg
02:56where musicians found favour.
02:58But what was Sia's family's response to his queer identity?
03:03My love of singing started from a very young age.
03:05I fell in love with music.
03:11I'm grateful for my family.
03:13They never made me feel inferior.
03:15They were always very welcoming and accepting of who I was.
03:21Despite South Africa's constitutional protection of sexual orientation,
03:26hate crimes remain a harsh reality.
03:29How did the tragic murder of lesbian footballer Yudi Simelane in 2008 affect Sia?
03:37As a gay man or as a queer person, that story touched me.
03:41It really triggered a lot of emotions inside of me and gave me a purpose also in a way
03:46that the struggle continues, the fight continues.
03:50So after Yudi Simelane passed away, the community had decided that this whole entire space
03:56was going to be used as a memorial to Yudi, so it's a park.
04:01So a lot of pride events have been hosted here.
04:09From social upliftment to corporate culture,
04:12how are Sia and the choir using their performances to celebrate diversity
04:17and create queer positive narratives?
04:21During Pride Month, we were invited by Google to perform.
04:27One of the songs is called Fly Your Flag High.
04:30This song is about self-acceptance and self-love.
04:38When I sing our song titled Fly Your Flag High,
04:44it makes me feel so proud of myself.
04:48That song speaks to my heart, it really speaks to my heart.
04:52Don't be afraid of who you are, cause of the world we live in.
04:58Be who you are, don't be ashamed.
05:04Be who you are, don't be ashamed.
05:10Be who you are, don't be ashamed.
05:17As a young, black, African, gay man, I am proud and I feel like I have a purpose.
05:23It does not only end about me being gay,
05:26but also making sure that the younger generation of gay young men,
05:30or African men, also grows up and finds a world which is safe for them.
05:35Fly your flag high, oh fly.
05:42Fly your flag high.