BREAKING: Mobile billboard circling Knoxville Symphony Orchestra TONIGHT to expose woke DEI practices

Knoxville, Tenn., February 12, 2026 — A mobile billboard is circling outside the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's performance tonight, with messages highlighting the ongoing legal fight against the orchestra's DEI framework and subsequent discriminatory practices.

Location: 604 South Gay Street, Knoxville TN, 37902 Time: 3-11 p.m. on Thursday, February 12 and Friday, February 13

The campaign is tied to the broader anti-DEI legal efforts spearheaded by the Coolidge Reagan Foundation in support of James Zimmermann.

In September 2025, James Zimmermann was invited to a start-to-finish blind audition for the full-time Principal Clarinet position with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO). After winning multiple rounds, Zimmermann was told he had been selected as the top performer and would "be on the payroll" within two weeks. Days later, KSO CEO Rachel Ford suddenly reversed the decision and refused to discuss the matter further.

"Years earlier, as an outspoken conservative, I was labeled 'not DEI enough' at another symphony where my accusers were looking for their Jussie Smollett moment," Zimmermann said. "Instead of investigating the facts, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra went the route of 'believe immediately' rather than investigate carefully, and Knoxville used that as an excuse to toss out a fully screened audition process without bothering to ask a single question."

Dan Backer of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, counsel for the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, says the issue carries broader implications because symphony orchestras in Tennessee receive public funding. "This is about accountability," Backer said. "Americans are waking up to the reality that DEI was never about equality, it was about money, power, and petty revenge – and in James' case, about getting the DEI hire they wanted instead of the most qualified candidate – and doing so on the taxpayer's dime."

The lawsuit seeks compensation and other appropriate relief for the wrongful and discriminatory refusal to hire Zimmermann, the best performer throughout the audition process.

ABOUT THE COOLIDGE REAGAN FOUNDATION

For more than a decade, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation has defended free speech, exposed corrupt politicians, and protected election integrity, ensuring America's founding principles endure. Its 2018 complaint against Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee over the unlawful funding of the Steele Dossier led to a six-figure fine—the only fine ever levied against her. The foundation's 2019 complaint against Bernie Sanders for hiring illegal aliens led to a five-figure penalty, and it has fearlessly taken on the political corruption of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Jasmine Crockett, and Rashida Tlaib, among others.

For more information, visit www.coolidgereagan.org.

To request an interview or a copy of the complaint, please contact: Ashley Losoya at ashley@prosepolitical.com.