Solidarity Sing Along

SOLIDARITY SING ALONG. Debuting on March 11, 2011 at the Wisconsin Capitol to protest the Republican implementation of legislation Act 10 that effectively ended collective bargaining for public sector unions, the Solidarity Sing Along (SSA)vowed to wage a singing protest until the newly-elected Governor Scott Walker left office. Participants gathered every weekday at noon until nearly eight years later, in January 2019, they achieved their goal: Walker’s third electoral campaign ended in defeat, and the Democratic Governor Tony Evers was sworn into office. Having achieved intense camaraderie, the solidarity singers continued to meet intermittently on many Fridays and anniversary celebrations. Some singers persisted into the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic by meeting over Zoom. In March 2021, the SSA marked its tenth anniversary and attracted singers from all over the state, who offered a rousing rendition of the Woody Guthrie classic “This Land Is Your Land.”

Designated the longest-running singing protest in US history, the SSA was founded by Steve Burns, longtime activist with the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. At the beginning, Burns put together a one-page song list and adapted familiar protest songs to the new situation. The civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” included a new verse predicting the ultimate removal of Walker from office; organized labor found support in innovative lyrics added to Billy Bragg’s powerful “There is Power in the Union.” Florence Reece’s beloved “Which Side Are You On?” inspired a rousing adaptation: “Don’t believe the Governor/ don’t listen to his lies/ Working folks don’t have a chance,/ unless we organize!”
The boisterous finale always featured Ralph Chaplin’s “Solidarity Forever.” A pick-up band of musicians, tagged “The Learning Curve,” regularly accompanied singers ranging in number from thirty to 200, although as the years wore on the size of the chorus grew significantly smaller. But through the heat of summer and the sometime bitter cold of the Wisconsin winter, a group routinely assembled either inside the Capitol Rotunda or on the lawn outside. Especially during the summer months, tourists came to watch or partake in the singing, and local groups formed in several Wisconsin cities and eventually in several other states, including Texas and Michigan.

Although Governor Scott Walker claimed to have never heard the SSA, he called out the Capitol police in the summer 2013, tightening requirements for permits to assemble and issuing citations to those who insisted on assembling. Those cited surprised the Governor by demanding a jury trial, a move that garnered many supporters from the ACLU to Pussy Riot and many donors to a defense fund. Eventually, the court ruled that Walker’s order violated the state constitution and dismissed the citations.

During its first year, local peace activist R. Chris Reeder led the SSA, and he described the daily event as a source of empowerment for the participants as much as a political statement aimed at the governor and the public. He helped publicize the singers’ favorite motto: “This Is What Democracy Looks Like” and help revive the protest song tradition of the US Left.

Mari Jo Buhle and Paul Buhle. “The Historic Wisconsin Solidarity Sing Along.” The Progressive. April 9, 2012.

Solidarity Sing-Along Videos. Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice Website. http://wnpj.org/node/5221