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The marching band at Mississippi Valley State University has come under fire after it announced its intention to accept President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to perform at his upcoming inauguration.
The historically Black university launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for its Mean Green Marching Machine Band to travel to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 20 inauguration, as well as for instruments, uniforms, scholarships and other band needs. As of Jan. 6, the campaign had raised $265,947. The trip will cost $350,000, according to an announcement from the university last week.
“This is not just a moment of pride for our university but for the entire state of Mississippi,” university president Jerryl Briggs said in the announcement. “It is an opportunity to showcase our legacy, celebrate our culture, and invest in the future leaders of our community.” He added that the performance would allow students “to engage in the peaceful transition of power and gain global exposure.”
Mississippi Valley State wouldn’t be the first HBCU to perform at a Trump inauguration, HBCU Buzz reported. Talladega College’s Great Tornado Marching Band performed at Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
But the university’s efforts to send the band to the event prompted backlash. Op-eds in The Root and HBCU Sports slammed the decision as an apparent endorsement of Trump when most Black voters feel less than celebratory about him taking office. Social media has erupted with criticism, and defense, of the move.
The Mean Green Marching Machine Band has “a proud history of standing up for Black history, equity, and justice,” Bishop Talbert Swan, president of the Springfield, Mass., branch of the NAACP, posted on X. “However, accepting an invitation to perform at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a disgraceful betrayal of that legacy.”
