The Mississippi Valley State University band’s invitation to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration has sparked an uproar for the historically black institution.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies accepted the band’s application and invited the university’s Mean Green Fighting Machine to participate in the 60th Presidential Inauguration Parade on January 20 in Washington, D.C.
Mississippi Valley State University, located in Itta Bena, Miss., announced the invitation via a news release on December 26, 2024, and began soliciting donations immediately. By January 17, a GoFundMe page had raised more than $300,000. The announcement lists the total cost of the trip at $350,000, including travel, accommodations, meals, and equipment.
Mississippi Valley State University National Alumni Association President Jerry D. Redmond, Jr. said the university held a private town hall meeting with the band director Dr. Miguel Bonds, the Alumni Association and band students.
Redmond said that although the alumni association was unaware of the band’s application to participate in the parade, it backs the students.
“It was a situation where we want to support the students and the opportunity to participate in that national stage,” Redmond told the Mississippi Free Press on Jan 13.
Bonds took over the program in 2023. The New Orleans native was the band director for Talladega College in Alabama, an HBCU that also prompted controversy when it participated in Trump’s 2017 inaugural parade. Redmond said Bonds told those in the town hall meeting that he applies each time an inaugural parade is set to take place.
“He did disclose that he applies every year that a president’s inauguration is going to take place, regardless of who the candidates are, because it’s one of the highest honors for a band director—to participate in the presidential inauguration,” Redmond said.
The inaugural parade usually spans a 1.5-mile route along Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Capitol to the White House. It lasts approximately three hours and is televised on most major news outlets. This year, however, a forecast of intense cold weather in Washington, D.C. on inauguration day has forced alterations to the parade route. Trump plans to hold a modified inaugural parade inside Washington’s Capital One Arena. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will also move the swearing-in ceremony indoors to the U.S. Capitol rotunda as temperatures are predicted to be around 22 degrees Fahrenheit at noon.
“This is not just a moment of pride for our university but for the entire state of Mississippi,” said MVSU President Dr. Jerryl Briggs said in the university’s announcement. “It is an opportunity to showcase our legacy, celebrate our culture, and invest in the future leaders of our community. This participation allows students to engage in the peaceful transition of power and gain global exposure while celebrating the university’s 75th anniversary.”
The transfer of power was less peaceful four years ago, however, when Trump’s lies claiming the 2020 election was stolen sparked a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol involving hundreds of his supporters.
MVSU officials declined to speak to the Mississippi Free Press because the reporter would not provide specific written questions in advance, per MFP’s ethical guidelines.
Although top campus officials support the band’s participation in the inauguration, touting it as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” others say it conflicts with the mission and legacy of HBCUs. Some expressed shock that the university would accept the invitation from President Trump, who supports eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and cutting federal funding for any school that he claims teaches “Critical Race Theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.”
In an open letter, Bishop Talbert Swan, II, a civil rights activist who is president of the Greater Springfield NAACP in Massachusetts, said the band’s participation in the parade contradicts its storied history.
“Mississippi Valley State University, in particular, carries a legacy shaped by students who, in 1964, organized a boycott demanding expanded Black history offerings in the curriculum and more representative library acquisitions,” Swan said. “This speaks to the unyielding commitment MVSU has — or has had — to honoring Black contributions and perspectives.”
“Yet the decision to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration stands in stark opposition to these values,” he continues. “His rhetoric and policies, past and present, include efforts to ban or severely limit the teaching of Black history in schools, penalize institutions that place an emphasis on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and impose financial burdens on universities that insist on advancing these essential areas of education … . By extension, he dismisses and demeans the very educational ethos upon which HBCUs are built.”
Others questioned the band’s need to crowd-fund to make the trip when the band has other immediate needs. The GoFundMe says that in addition to financing the trip to Washington, D.C., the band is “seeking funds to acquire instruments, uniforms, provide scholarships, and get other essential resources for its continued development.”
“We are making improvements to the band hall to facilitate band practice,” the text says.
The inaugural parade website states that groups interested in participating in the parade must have applied by December 4. The application packet notes that “groups selected to participate in the parade will be responsible for all of their own expenses.”
The MVSU Alumni Association Facebook page has several posts soliciting financial support for the university choirs’ participation in the International Verona Choral Competition. However, there are no posts soliciting donations for the band or reposting its GoFundMe page.
“We’ve been very prayerful for them and we’ve given them full support,” Redmond said when asked how the alumni association was supporting the band’s efforts to travel to the inauguration. “The National Alumni Association supports all of the entities of the university. We support all of the areas. We are one of the primary supporters of which has to raise funding to support across the board and the band is one of the extensions and divisions of the University that we support. Now that is for overall support and not necessarily specific support. The choir, we did have to support specifically for (their) venture to happen. So the choir did get major support from the Alumni Association for the trip to Italy to be a success for them.”
Gov. Tate Reeves asked Mississippians to support the band’s efforts in a Jan 6 post on X.
“Looking forward to seeing @MVSUDEVILS’ Mean Green Marching Machine represent our state in @realDonaldTrump’s inaugural parade! You can help support these incredible students for this exciting opportunity,” Reeves posted along with the band’s GoFundMe link.
During his first term, Trump signed the FUTURE Act, which “made permanent a commitment of $255 million in annual funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” However, many worry about the fate of these universities during the second Trump presidency.
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan involves reducing federal oversight for public schools and universities which could lead to cuts in government funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Many HBCUs rely heavily on this funding for scholarships, operations, facilities and academic programs.