Singing Resistance Hosts Nationwide Weekend of Protest Song

When protesters in Minnesota started singing instead of shouting, their message about immigration enforcement spread faster than any chant ever could. Now the movement behind those viral videos is taking its tuneful resistance nationwide.

Singing Resistance is hosting a weekend of song events on Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1 across all 95 of its U.S. chapters. The group, which gained millions of views with its protest song "It's Okay To Change Your Mind," is coordinating sing-ins at immigration detention centers and corporate locations with ICE contracts.

The approach isn't new, but it feels fresh. Singing Resistance draws from proven tactics used in the Civil Rights Movement, Indigenous resistance efforts, and even a Serbian movement called Otpor! that successfully urged officers to defect from authoritarian regimes.

Their message is simple: singing creates healing while voicing dissent. "We are grounded in love, nonviolence, and solidarity," the group shared on social media.

The movement has already caught fire beyond street corners. Singer Brandi Carlile invited Singing Resistance members on stage at a recent concert, and churches and community centers nationwide are now practicing protest hymns from the group's digital songbook.

The Ripple Effect

What started as cold-weather protests in Minnesota has become a coordinated national movement in just weeks. The group's toolkit outlines two core messages: one for the forces they're protesting ("We won't be silent while this violence occurs") and one for fellow singers ("If you come for one of us, you come for all of us").

Song training sessions are happening in cities across the country as organizers prepare participants for the weekend events. The group emphasizes that their gatherings serve dual purposes: bearing witness to violence while offering solace and strength to communities facing oppression.

The weekend aims to "further spread and deepen the practice of singing throughout U.S. social movements," according to organizers. Whether that goal succeeds depends on how many people show up with voices ready, but the infrastructure is already in place across nearly 100 cities.

People interested in joining can find their local chapter through Singing Resistance's social media channels, where the same songs that went viral are being shared as tools for change rather than just content to scroll past.