Homeless Choir Sings Against Sit/Lie

Singers of the Street continues Bay Area tradition of protest
songs

By Chloe Veltman on November 1, 2010 – 6:21 p.m. PDT

Opponents of Proposition L, a proposed San Francisco initiative
known as sit/lie that would criminalize sitting and lying down on
public sidewalks, have made their presence felt across the city in
a variety of ways, such as posting No on L signs, organizing city
marches and promoting online campaigns. But Kathleen McGuire is
taking a less conventional stand against the sit/lie motion: She’s
started a choir.

Protest songs, after all, need protest singers.

McGuire, a choral conductor who has served as the artistic
director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus since 2000, is the
founder of Singers of the Street, a new vocal ensemble with both
homeless and non-homeless members. McGuire formed the chorus in
September to fight Prop L and raise awareness about homelessness in
San Francisco, a city with an estimated homeless population of more
than 7,000.