"Singing Resistance" - Adapted Versions Of "We Shall Not Be Moved", "I Won't Be Silent" And Some Other Songs Included In Anti-Ice Protests (2025, 2026)

AP Archive, Jan 17, 2026

(12 Jan 2026)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Minneapolis - 11 January 2026

1. Various, Supporters of Renee Good marching, singing

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Abbott, Renee Good supporter

"Part of the inspiration for this is that singing has been a really big part of movements for social change forever. So we're taking inspiration from the civil rights movement, the singing revolution in Estonia, the movements, the anti-party movement in South Africa. There's so many places where folks have sung to help strengthen ou rselves to take action."

3. Supporters of Renee Good marching, singing

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarah Abbott, Renee Good supporter:

"Our communities are just going through a lot. We both live in the neighborhood or in the next neighborhood over and we wanted to bring together folks who could sing and really like share a message of love and solidarity and support and care for the neighborhood and the folks who live here including a lot of immigrant families who live here who are really afraid to leave their homes."

5. Supporters of Renee Good marching, singing"...

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about and YouTube videos of singing resistance- the inclusion of songs for anti-ICE protests.

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and political purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are peacefully protesting against ICE and other assaults on American democracy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. 
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/01/protest-chants-from-womens-march-on.html for an example of another pancocojams post about protest chants and song. One example is the 2017 post "Protest Chants From The Women's March On Washington & From Sister Marches" (January 21, 2017)

Additional pancocojams posts about protest songs and protest chants can be found by clicking the tags below.

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DISCLAIMER
I don't mean to imply that the singing resistance anti-ICE protests that are featured in this post are the first use of or the only uses of adapted versions of these protest songs directed against ICE

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INFORMATION ABOUT & EXAMPLES OF THESE EXAMPLES OF SINGING RESISTANCE 
These segments are given in no particular order.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

I. AI Overview [results from my January 18, 2026 search]

"In January 2026, faith leaders, activists, and community members in Minnesota held demonstrations at Target headquarters and retail locations, using song, prayer, and protest to demand the retailer stop allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to use their properties for staging and arrests. 

Key details regarding the protests:

• "Singing ICE Out" Demonstrations: Organizers, including Unidos MN and Women’s March Minnesota, staged musical protests at Target stores in the Twin Cities (specifically mentioning Edina and Minneapolis) to protest the use of parking lots for apprehending immigrants.
• Clergy Demonstration: More than 100 Twin Cities clergy gathered at Target's downtown Minneapolis headquarters on January 15, 2026, to sing, pray, and demand a stronger stand against federal law enforcement activity.
• Protester Chants: Participants chanted "We are shopping elsewhere, we shall not be moved".
• Impact: The protests were in response to videos of federal agents arresting two Target employees at a Richfield store on January 8, 2026. Following the demonstrations, Target management met with the protesting group. 

Similar musical, "singing" protests against ICE actions have been reported at Home Depot locations and other cities during the same period. "...

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2. AI Overview [results January 18, 2026]
"Protestors have frequently sung "We Shall Not Be Moved" at anti-ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) demonstrations to protest against deportations, detention conditions, and federal immigration raids.

Recent, specifically documented instances include:

San Francisco (Dec 16, 2025): Faith leaders and protesters sang hymns, including "We Shall Not Be Moved," while chaining themselves to the doors of a San Francisco immigration court to protest ICE detentions.

New York (Sept 19, 2025): Protesters, including local elected officials, sang "We Shall Not Be Moved" during a rally outside a Manhattan facility holding cells, resulting in multiple arrests.

Minnesota (Oct 24, 2025): Clergy members and demonstrators sang "We Shall Not Be Moved" and "This Little Light of Mine" during a protest against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Minneapolis.

National Context (Jan 2026): Similar songs of resistance have been used in ongoing protests in early 2026, such as in Minneapolis, following high-profile immigration enforcement actions.

The song, a staple of the Civil Rights Movement, is used to signal solidarity and defiance against immigration enforcement efforts.

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3. "We Shall Not Be Moved": Nearly a dozen arrested in anti-ICE protest outside NY immigration facility

Global News, Sep 19, 2025  #ice #americanpolitics #GlobalNews

About a dozen New York state and local elected officials were arrested Thursday during protests outside a Manhattan building housing holding cells operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The facility was cited by a federal judge for inhumane conditions.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and 10 state lawmakers were taken into custody inside 26 Federal Plaza after they were denied entry to inspect the 10th-floor cells. A group was there to "ensure compliance" with a court order on Thursday requiring ICE to improve conditions at the lock-up, protest organizers said.

More than 75 people were detained by city police and federal agents. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security put the number of overall arrests at 71.

The incident was the latest clash between federal authorities and Democratic politicians opposed to the immigration policies of President Donald Trump.
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The protestors repeatedly chanted the words "We shall not be moved" and didn't sing that entire protest song. The tune that they used was different from the tune for the Civil Rights song. 

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4. Protestors ERUPT into Song as ICE TERRORIZES

 

The Dangerous Ones, Jan 16, 2026  

Protestors meet state terror with harmony and courage. The result is powerful, emotional, and unforgettable.

WARNING -A portion of this video includes the “f word” and “flipping the bird” visuals.
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Here's my explanation for that "Warning" note: 
Pancocojams is a family centered blog and I always add that warning when profanity is used in quotes and/or when what I consider vulgar gestures like "flipping the bird" are used in videos that I've decided to showcase for other reasons. I rarely curse and I especially don't like profanity or vulgar gestures used around children.

However, I understand that the situation regarding ICE and trump's regime is horrendous. And I know that I am really "pissed" about all of it (That word "pissed" being the type of "bad language" I use). So I can understand that people who are saying the f word in these marches, and elsewhere in public when they are talking about the situations that we are experiencing in the USA now are being real and not trying to sugarcoat how they are feeling. So, more power to them.

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In this video the lyrics to an adapted version of "We Shall Not Be Moved" (anti-ICE song sung during Target Sit In January 16, 2026] 

Refrain:
We shall not, We shall not be moved
We shall not, We shall not be moved
Just like a tree planted by the water
We shall not be moved

Verse 1:
We can stay here all day
We shall not be moved
We can stay here all day
We shall not be moved
Just like a tree 
Planted by the water
We shall not be moved

Verse #2
We are shopping elsewhere
We shall not be moved
We are shopping elsewhere
We are not be moved
Just like a tree that’s planted by the water
We shall not be moved.
-snip-
This version of "We Shall Not Be Moved" uses the same tune and tempo of the 1960s Civil Rights song. In the beginning of this very short video clip it appears that one person says the first line of each verse before the group sings the entire verse in unison.  

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4. Kristen in Minnesota | A new group to mobilize singers into ...

Instagram · kristeninmn

0:21

"It's called “Singing Resistance.” The first singing vigil was held on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN.

Philadelphia Ice Protest Chant: We Won't Be Silent

TikTok · NowThis Impact,  Jan , 12, 2026

"As participants come together, they chant, "Hey Oh, We Won't Be Silent!" This phrase resonates not just as a chant but as a rallying cry for ...Read more"

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5. https://www.tiktok.com/@nowthisimpact/video/7594602011639745847
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Some lyrics to this adapted version of “We won’t be silent” 
"Hey o we won’t be silent  while our friends are gunned down"

[Repeat these lyrics sung in unison with a slow tempo]

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6. https://www.facebook.com/groups/msnbcnewsjunkies/posts/3291294547699066/

MS NOW{News Junkies}  ·

Betty Ellis McGuire, Jan 11, 2026
“New group singing against ICE and their violence!”

Kristen in Minnesota:

A new group to mobilize singers into direct action in Minneapolis has been formed. It’s called “Singing Resistance.” ...

 [Video with some words in captions ]

If you saw our neighbors who are locked inside
Together
We will abolish ice
-snip-
These are the entire lyrics that are given in this video. They are sung in unison with a slow tempo and these lyrics are repeated again and again.
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