Mother of a Revolution

Wisconsin School Board Bans Instrumental Music Honoring Trans Icon, Comissioned and Premiered by the Desert Winds.

The Watertown School Board in Wisconsin has voted to ban an instrumental music piece from a high school spring concert, sparking a massive student walkout.

The Music and the Ban

The Piece: "A Mother of a Revolution!" by Omar Thomas, a complex, lyric-free composition. Commissioned by the Desert Winds Freedom Band and Premiered in Palm Springs 5 years ago, has been played widely by college bands across the US. 

The Dedication: Written to honor transgender pioneer Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Uprising.

The Censorship: Conservative board members labeled the song's historical dedication "radical indoctrination."

The Impact: The high school wind symphony was forced to scrap a challenging piece they spent months mastering.

The Student Protest

In response to the political interference, hundreds of students staged a walkout. The demonstrators gathered outside to protest the heavy-handed suppression of art, defend creative freedom, and support their LGBTQ+ peers.