Solidarity Sing Along Collection

Historical Background: 

The Solidarity Sing Along is a grassroots protest event that emerged during the 2011 Wisconsin protests, also known as the Wisconsin Uprising. The protests were in opposition to Governor Scott Walker’s 2011 budget repair bill (Wisconsin Act 10). The bill aimed to limit collective bargaining rights for public employees, rights that had been in effect since 1959. Starting in February 2011, over 100,000 demonstrators gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison to oppose the bill. 

While general protests declined after June 2011, the Solidarity Sing Along maintained an active presence at the State Capitol during the remainder of 2011 and for many years after. Deemed the longest running singing protest in history, the first sing along was held on March 11, 2011 and was organized by Steve Burns, a local community college teacher and an activist with the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. Though originally planned as a weeklong series of events coinciding with Burns’s spring break, the popularity of the sing along created enough momentum to continue well past week’s end. When Steve Burns returned to teaching the following week, R. Chris Reeder, a local actor and stage technician, helped organize the event.  

The singing became a symbol of the resistance against the controversial legislation. The songs often included well-known protest songs with modified lyrics that conveyed messages of unity, resistance, and opposition to the policies proposed by the government. The songs were drawn largely from the American labor and civil rights movements and included “We Shall Overcome,” “Keep Your Eyes On the Prize,” “If I Had a Hammer,” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” with updated lyrics relevant to the Wisconsin protests. 

The Solidarity Sing Along was not only a form of peaceful protest but also a way for people to come together, build community, and express their dissent creatively. Over time, the tradition has continued, and, as of 2021, people were still gathering every weekday at the State Capitol to sing.  

Scope and Contents: 

The Solidarity Sing Along Collection includes original songbooks, CDs featuring live recordings of participants singing, DVDs with amateur video of sing along events, and books tracing the history and evolution of the Solidarity Sing Along, edited and published by sing along participants.