Striking Oklahoma Music Teachers Play a Marching Band Style Cover of ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’

On April 2, 2018, the teachers of Oklahoma went on strike due to low pay, overcrowded classrooms, decaying textbooks and tax cuts that decreased student spending. On the fifth day of the strike outside the state capitol, a number of music instructors from across the state picked up their instruments and played a fabulous marching band style cover of the classic Twisted Sister anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It“.

Marching band directors and others play at the State Capitol as part of the 2018 Oklahoma Teachers Walkout

The song, written in 1984 by frontman Dee Snider, has become a prescient battle cry as of late and was also sung during the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike in March 2018.

This impromptu marching band also performed covers of “School’s Out” and “Taking Care of Business“, which helped to rally the troops on a rainy day.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.