Last week, a video of 2,000 bundled-up Minnesotans singing in the streets of Minneapolis went viral.
“It’s okay to change your mind / Show us your courage / Leave this behind,” they sang. “It’s okay to change your mind / And you can join us / Join us here anytime.”
The group sang to ICE agents inside a Residence Inn, with what they said was one message: “Quit your job.”
“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,” organizers shared on social media.
“We still have space in our hearts for ICE agents who are willing to walk away from the path of violence and take accountability for harm they’ve caused. We paid ICE agents a visit today to call them home.”
The group calls itself Singing Resistance, and according to social media, they were inspired by “Otpor!,” a Serbian civil resistance movement that overthrew a dictatorship in 2000.
And their efforts are only getting started.
An estimated 2,000 people congregate in a Minneapolis church to prepare for Singing Resistance demonstrations. Photo courtesy of Westminster Presbyterian Church/Facebook
After distributing a digital songbook of their most common refrains, the group is now calling for a “nationwide day of action.”
While it’s not yet clear to the public when they plan to schedule this activation, organizers say they hope to mobilize supporters by hosting in-person and virtual training sessions so they can learn popular protest songs, along with protest safety and legal rights.
One online training session took place on Sunday, Feb. 8, and another is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12. Anyone interested in joining can register for free online.
“Singing Resistance is building a mass movement of singers to protect and care for our communities in the face of rising authoritarianism,” the group shared in a social media post.
“We are grounded in love, nonviolence, and solidarity. We sing publicly in the streets for the sake of solace, strength, solidarity, to voice our dissent, and to refuse cooperation with oppressive and autocratic forces.”
In regard to the virtual training sessions, they added: “Together, we’ll learn how to take coordinated action.”
Interfaith groups and churches across the country have already hosted some in-person sing-alongs.
“We were grateful to be able to host Singing Resistance Twin Cities yesterday,” Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis shared on Facebook earlier this month. “They first lifted their voices in our sanctuary and then took to Nicollet Mall. Beautiful!”
Another group, hosted by nonprofit Interfaith Alliance, shared a video of hundreds of New Yorkers gathered in a church to sing the group’s now-hit, “It’s Okay To Change Your Mind.”
“Hundreds of New Yorkers across faith traditions and ages just packed an NYC church for an ICE OUT resistance song training,” the video’s caption read. “We choose love, not ICE!”
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Header image courtesy of Westminster Presbyterian Church/Facebook
