Top 5 Protest Songs That Ring True Following Minneapolis Strikes

January 28, 2026

by Serg EF

Here is a Spotify link to a full playlist of songs in this blog post + bonus tracks.

What is the role of music in today's environment of social uprising? Hi! My name is Serg EF and I am a private music teacher, based in Southern California. Long before the internet, Facebook, and the 24-hour news cycle, music has been used to communicate a collective consciousness of the people. Protest songs have for centuries served a vital role - to distill the pain of a population and communicate it quickly and effectively across the land. I present to you "Top Five Protest Songs That Ring True Following Minneapolis Strikes".

Ps. Each title link below leads to a video tutorial for the respective song. ENJOY!

“The Times They Are a-Changing” by Bob Dylan

Released as the title track of his 1964 album, Dylan parades the power of simplicity in this straight ahead folk song. The Pulitzer Prize winner shows that protest in art can be tasteful, honest, and un-pretentious. This song was speaking to the Civil Rights Movement, only four years before Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis. Now, more than 60 years later, the opening lines “Come gather 'round people, wherever you roam / And admit that the waters around you have grown” remind us that in order to heal as a society, we first must admit that there is a problem.

“Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony

Richmond is an unassuming Virginia city which sits on I-95 on the way to Washington DC. In Anthony’s track, Richmond plays the role of the forgotten everyman - a way station that barely draws a thought from the ambitious business people, lobbyists, and (of course) politicians traveling to DC. These “Rich Men” may stop there for gas, use Richmond’s amenities, or smirk at the "quaint" downtown. Much like the rest of everyday America, the citizens of Richmond are inferior life forms in the eyes of the “Rich Men North of Richmond”. Oliver Anthony set a record in August of 2023 when he became the first artist in chart history to reach the top spot on the BIllboard Hot 100 with zero previous releases. Immediately, Oliver found himself in a tug of war on the presidential debate stage, as both candidates tried to claim Anthony on their side. He would later release a statement expressing disdain for both parties.

“Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen

Despite the song’s powerful, often misinterpreted, patriotic-sounding chorus (which led to its co-opting by politicians like Ronald Reagan) “Born in the USA” lyrics describe disillusionment, joblessness, and societal neglect after the Vietnam war. The genius of this protest song lives in Bruce’s ability to balance the harshness of the verses with the chest-thumping anthem of the chorus. He gets opposing sides of the political spectrums to look at each other, even if in total disagreement. While many protest songs harness the anger of the oppressed, Springsteen adds a fresh dollop of nationalistic pride into the mix, which disarms the oppressor, and opens the door for him to hear the message. “Born in the USA” is the Trojan horse of protest songs.

“United Health” by Jesse Welles

“CEOs come and go, and one just went / the ingredients you got, make the cake you get” sings the 32-year old Arkansas troubadour Jesse Welles, who in 2025 exploded online with a new kind of a protest song “United Health”. If Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen generalized and obscured some of their harsher lyrics to make them more palatable, Welles sends a wrecking ball right at the heart of the most controversial headline of last year: the slaying of the United Health CEO Brian Thompson. Welles shows that among oversized news and boiling tempers, gentle touch no longer gets the attention. The brutally honest and sometimes dystopian lyrics of “United Health” cut like a bullet through the media landscape, with everyone from Joe Rogan to The Rolling Stone featuring Welles on their platforms.

We Are The World by Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Kenny Loggins, Huey Lewis, Steve Perry, Al Jarreau, James Ingram, and the Jackson family (Jackie, LaToya, Marlon, Randy, Tito)

"We Are the World" was a historic 1985 charity single, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones. It brought together dozens of music superstars to raise funds and awareness for famine relief in Ethiopia. “We Are The World” became a global anthem of hope and collective action, raising over $63 million for humanitarian aid. There is a great uniting force in seeing such massive voices and egos, putting aside their schedule conflicts, monetary demands, and want for the spotlight. At the end, when the group chorus comes together, the power of human spirit rings in all its glory. The lyric “We are saving our own lives” serves as a reminder how this is not a selfless act, but is necessary in order for our society to prosper.

Minneapolis, 2026