For the record, here's a concise, factual summary of my role in the Solidarity Sing Along:
By conducting and co-conducting more than 300 noon Solidarity Sing Alongs at the Wisconsin State Capitol between 2012 and 2015, Brandon Barwick has become one of the most documented singing-protest leaders in United States history.
Barwick is a Wisconsin-based activist, musician, and former protest leader associated with the Solidarity Sing Along, a nonviolent, music-centered protest movement that emerged during the 2011 Wisconsin Capitol demonstrations opposing Governor Scott Walker's administration and its policies, including Wisconsin Act 10.
Following Wisconsin's June 5, 2012, gubernatorial recall election, Barwick became the Solidarity Sing Along's lead organizer, primary conductor, songbook editor, and public point of contact, coordinating and conducting the majority of the noon Solidarity Sing Alongs held each weekday inside the Wisconsin State Capitol building and on Capitol grounds through early 2015.
In 2012 and 2013, during Barwick's tenure in those leadership roles, more than 180 participants and observers at the noon Solidarity Sing Alongs (some conducted by participants other than Barwick) received over 500 citations from the Wisconsin Capitol Police for their involvement in unpermitted musical gatherings inside the Capitol building, resulting in more than 500 Solidarity Sing Along-related court cases involving civil disobedience, the vast majority of which were ultimately dismissed or otherwise resolved in the defendants' favor.
During that period, Barwick himself received 29 citations from the Capitol Police for conducting unpermitted noon Solidarity Sing Alongs and was arrested five more times for participating in them, with all 34 of his court cases ultimately dismissed.
From November 2012 through April 2016, Barwick served as a founding board member of the First Amendment Protection Fund, helping to create, promote, and oversee the Fund, which raised more than $30,000 to support individuals cited for participating in or observing unpermitted noon Solidarity Sing Alongs.
From December 2011 through July 2015, Barwick also played trombone as a member of the Forward! Marching Band, a music-making collective that regularly accompanied political actions and community events.
Barwick has been referenced in numerous local, regional, and national news reports covering the Solidarity Sing Along and is often identified as a central figure in sustaining the Sing Along as a long-running, music-centered public protest in the years following Wisconsin's June 5, 2012, gubernatorial recall election.
