FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]
Margaret Brown, Director, Producer and Co-Writer of Descendant, and Emmett Lewis IV, Descendant of Africatown founder Cudjo Lewis, will participate in a panel discussion on the importance of storytelling and legacy
(Washington, DC): Today, February 23rd at 8:30 p.m. ET, When We All Vote will host My School Votes’ Community Conversation: Descendant featuring Margaret Brown, Director, Producer and Co-Writer of Descendant, Emmett Lewis IV, Descendant of Kazoola (Cudjoe) and Abile Celia Lewis and Stephanie L. Young, Executive Director of When We All Vote. In honor of Black History Month, the virtual panel will reinforce the importance of Black stories and heritage by exploring the concepts of legacy and storytelling through the new Netflix Documentary Descendant.
My School Votes, When We All Vote’s civic education program, encourages high school students and those who support them to join in the fight for democracy. Ahead of the 2022 general election, high school students across the country joined My School Votes to ensure their school communities were registered and ready to vote. Youth voters showed up, and last year’s midterm elections saw the second-highest youth turnout rate for a midterm election in the past 30 years — an estimated 27 percent of young people turned out to vote.
WHAT: My School Votes’ Community Conversation: Descendant
WHO:
- Stephanie L. Young, Executive Director of When We All Vote
- Margaret Brown, Director, Producer and Co-Writer of Descendant
- Emmett Lewis IV, Descendant of Kazoola (Cudjoe) and Abile Celia Lewis
WHEN: Thursday, February 23rd at 8:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Interested reporters should email [email protected] to RSVP.
ABOUT When We All Vote:
When We All Vote is a leading national, nonpartisan initiative on a mission to change the culture around voting and to increase participation in each and every election by helping to close the race and age gap. Created by Michelle Obama, When We All Vote brings together individuals, institutions, brands, and organizations to register new voters across the country and advance civic education for the entire family and voters of every age to build an informed and engaged electorate for today and generations to come. We empower our supporters and volunteers to take action through voting, advocating for their rights, and holding their elected officials accountable.
In 2020, When We All Vote ran a robust, multifaceted campaign and reached more than 100 million people to educate them about the voting process and get them registered and ready to vote. The initiative also led in voter education, registration, and volunteer engagement and as a result, 512,000 people started or completed the voter registration process, and nearly 500 media, corporate, and nonprofit partners joined its efforts.
Michelle Obama launched When We All Vote in 2018 and is joined by fellow Co-Chairs Stephen Curry, Becky G, Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, H.E.R., Liza Koshy, Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, Chris Paul, Megan Rapinoe, Shonda Rhimes, Bretman Rock, Kerry Washington, and Rita Wilson.
When We All Vote is an initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) organization, and works with Civic Nation Action, a 501(c)(4). Learn more here.
ABOUT Civic Nation:
Civic Nation is a nonprofit ecosystem for high-impact organizing and education initiatives working to build a more inclusive and equitable America. Civic Nation shifts culture, systems, and policy by bringing together individuals, grassroots organizers, industry leaders and influencers to tackle some of our nation’s most pressing social challenges. Civic Nation is home to seven national initiatives and campaigns: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Change Collective, It’s On Us, Online for All, SAVE On Student Debt, We The Action, and When We All Vote. Learn more here.