Over this past weekend, people from across the country joined together to celebrate community and resistance against fascism through song. The nationwide protest was organized by Singing Resistance, which is a grassroots movement with over 95 chapters across the US.
You have probably seen this group’s work before, even if you didn’t recognize the name. Videos of protesters singing their song, It’s Okay to Change Your Mind, have been going viral all over social media for the last 2 months. The lyrics included lines such as “It’s okay to change your mind / Show us your courage / Leave this behind / It’s okay to change your mind / And you can join us / Join us here anytime.” The song was written by Annie Schlaefer, a community song circle leader from Minneapolis. Schlaefer has shared that the lyrics were inspired by the Serbian civil resistance movement Otpor!.
Otpor! operated from 1998 to 2000 and lasted as a political organization in Serbia until 2004. The group used nonviolent acts to overthrow dictator Slobodan Milošević. It was common for members to be arrested and beaten by police, so the group began showing up at police stations and officers’ houses to chant, “You may not join us today, but you can join us tomorrow”. Their protest method seemed to work, as during the final hours of the revolution, with thousands of people marching across Serbia, police officers refused to follow Milošević’s order to shoot the protesters. Schlaefer hopes the song will inspire ICE agents to do the same, to quit their jobs and stop “being on the wrong side of history”.
Another piece in their songbook is Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round. This song is based on the freedom song Don’t You Let Nobody Turn You Round, a civil rights era anthem that was used at many civil rights demonstrations, including the Memphis sanitation strike of 1967. The lyrics have been adapted to current situations and locations. The use of this song demonstrates the deep history of music as a tool for protest.
So, why sing? Many of those who have participated in this movement agree that “Song is a vehicle for us to grieve… to feel rage… to strengthen ourselves”. In a social media post, movement organizers shared, “Under federal occupation, Minneapolis has been going through immense pain, rage, and grief. But when they come at us with violence, we fight back with love”.
Sara Irlbeck, one of the organizers, added, “It’s hard to call someone a domestic terrorist when they’re singing”. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or not; singing together as a community shows solidarity and that American citizens will not stay quiet as our government wages war on its own people.
