Washington, DC: In celebration of Black History Month, When We All Vote Co-Chair Michelle Obama joined award-winning musical artist, Common, in a video message encouraging eligible voters to get registered and ready to vote. Mrs. Obama launched When We All Vote, a nonpartisan national voter registration initiative in 2018 to increase participation in every election.
In the video message, Common and Mrs. Obama recite the first stanza of Lift Every Voice and Sing, known as the Black National Anthem, a song written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson. They close the video by encouraging Americans to join When We All Vote, get registered and ready to vote.
There is an estimated 30 million African Americans who will be eligible to vote in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. A full transcript of the video is below.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Mrs. Obama: Lift every voice and sing-
Common:… till Earth and Heaven ring—ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Mrs. Obama: Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies. Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Common: Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us. Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Mrs. Obama: Facing the rising sun of our new day begun. Let us march on till victory is won.
Let’s make sure our voices are heard loud and clear by going to When We All Vote Dot Org and helping our friends, family and neighbors get registered and ready to vote.
Because When We All Vote, we can bring in a new day for this country that we all love.
Common: Get registered and ready to vote today at When We All Vote Dot Org. Join us.
ABOUT When We All Vote:
When We All Vote is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit that brings together citizens, institutions, brands, and organizations to increase participation in every election. We are committed to closing the race and age voting gap and empowering all eligible voters to cast their ballot by harnessing grassroots energy, establishing strategic partnerships, and implementing digital organizing strategies.
Launched in 2018 by co-chairs Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe, Chris Paul, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw, When We All Vote is changing the culture around voting using a data-driven and multifaceted approach to increase participation in elections.
In the months directly before the 2018 midterm elections, When We All Vote organized 2,500 local voter registration events across the country, engaged 200 million Americans online about the significance of voting, and texted nearly four million voters the resources to register and get out to vote.
In 2019, When We All Vote announced its new celebrity co-chairs and media partners who will help to reach people where they are and ultimately change the culture around voting.