Unsilenced Voices: The Power of Art in the Face of Censorship

From Charles Longcope, Jr Artistic Director & Conductor Sean Baugh - May 2024

The singers of the Turtle Creek Chorale are accustomed to singing on a variety of topics from LGBTQ+ rights to civil rights and issues of race, gender, and class. We have provided support during difficult times and celebrated joyous times.

However, never did I think we would be singing a concert on the topic of banned books, but here we are, singing on a topic that should concern us all. The ability of a few to dictate and filter the types of information we are allowed to consume, and more urgently, the information that young people are allowed to explore and access.

Unfortunately, many of these bans are centered around the issues of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans members of our community.

I grew up as a gay teenager in rural Oklahoma in the 80s and 90s. I know what it’s like to wander the halls of my school feeling different, feeling less-than, and feeling lost as someone who could be shunned and exposed at any moment, living in constant fear of what people might think about me if they knew the “real me.”

Today, while these fears still exist, our young people have a variety of resources that they can access to help make sense of the confusion, many times in the absence of open minded adults. These resources include books, which are usually the safest, most secure, and most private place that our young people can go to.

These books save lives. These books help create healthy, functioning adults. These are books that would have made a huge difference in MY life growing up, and kids are lucky to have inclusive, empathetic, and challenging literature to guide them through some of the most difficult times of their lives.

LGBTQ+ issues are not the only topics that groups are seeking to snatch from the hands of our youth. Honest assessments and explorations of race, women’s rights, and religion are also under attack, often being replaced with a narrative that only supports a glossy and unrealistic version of our own shared experiences.

So what do artists do to combat this effort? We use the only tool we have to draw attention to injustices and inequalities in our communities — art.

For the Turtle Creek Chorale, we sing and share stories through song.

As artists, we fully recognize that censorship of one genre affects all genres, censorship of one medium affects all mediums. We understand more than many groups that to suppress free thought is not only un-American, but also dangerous with real-world consequences.

So we sing, and we share our stories. We celebrate the free exchange of information and ideas. We hope that by singing on these issues we can help create awareness and provide inspiration for those fighting the fight.

For me, a lanky 16 year old waking the halls of Charles Page High School, not knowing where to turn, who to talk to, and feeling utterly alone in the world, I refuse to sit idly by and allow another kid to feel the same.

We must do better, and we must unite our voices to combat injustices in our communities.

PAGES: A TCC ENSEMBLE CONCERT

Our four ensembles will deliver a diverse and powerful program to educate, inspire, and celebrate the books that have made us who we are and warn us of the dangers of banning books we may not like..