Michelle Obama can see malign forces challenging democracy everywhere so she has called together a host of celebrities to defend it.
To that end she will deliver the keynote address at a Los Angeles democracy summit in June, adding to her previous efforts to push for legislation to advance the federal takeover of elections, eliminating voter ID laws.
The former first lady leads the When We All Vote lobby group backed by an all-star team including actors Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Kerry Washington and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Also included are Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, television producer Shonda Rhimes, singers Janelle Monae, Jennifer Lopez and H.E.R. and professional athletes Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Megan Rapinoe, to name just a few.
Obama’s June 13 remarks to When We All Vote’s inaugural Culture of Democracy Summit in L.A. will be her first in-person appearance before a large audience since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, organizers told the Press Association (PA).
She last addressed When We All Vote, a group created in 2018, in person before that year’s midterm elections.
“We need to talk about the state of our democracy and the ways we can protect it right from our own communities,” Michelle Obama said in a tweet previewing the event.
Conversations during the June 10-13 summit will reportedly center around “protecting democracy, combatting voter suppression and ensuring equal access to the ballot box for this fall’s November midterm elections and political contests beyond,” organizers said.
Artists, athletes, academics, grassroots organizers and technology, civic and corporate leaders are among the 1,500 people expected to participate, AP reports.
“Democracy isn’t just a box we check every four years,” said Stephanie Young, executive director of When We We All Vote. “Voting must be embedded in all aspects of our culture.”
Last year Breitbart News reported failed Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams joined Obama to push for legislation to advance the federal takeover of elections, eliminating voter ID laws.
File/Actor Tom Hanks kisses US First Lady Michelle Obama during the 92nd annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the National Mall’s Ellipse December 4, 2014 in Washington, DC. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
File/Former U.S. President Obama and wife Michelle aboard the 138 meter Rising Sun yacht where the couple and friends spent the morning off the Island of Moorea, in the South Pacific, part of French Polynesia on April 14, 2017. The couple plus U.S. singer Bruce Springsteen, U.S. actor Tom Hanks and TV personality Oprah Winfrey, spent two hours aboard the Rising Sun before leaving Tahiti. The Obamas left Tahiti after a one-month stay in French Polynesia. (MIKE LEYRAL/AFP via Getty)
A video from Abrams’ Fair Fight Action and Obama’s When We All Vote was released featuring the two pushing for legislation that would allow for the federal takeover of elections, saying “We’re working to change the future of this nation.”
“Our democracy and our vote — the very foundation of this nation and the most powerful tools we have as citizens are under attack,” Abrams said in the video, which runs at nearly two minutes.
“Right now, dangerous legislation is being proposed across the country that limits the freedom to vote, cast our ballots, and have our votes counted,” Obama said.
That message is expected to be reprised in Los Angeles in June.
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