Michelle Obama is delivering a get-out-the-vote message to mark Juneteenth, calling this year’s election a “critical moment.”
“June 16 is about celebrating our collective freedom and fighting to protect it,” said the former first lady said in a videoposted on X on Wednesday.
Juneteenth recognizes when enslaved people of African descent in Texas learned of their freedom in 1865, following the Civil War.
“Our power, our rights and even our planet are at the ballot box this year,” said Obama, who founded the voter registration and engagement organization When We All Vote in 2018.
“So now is the time to think about how you will make your voice heard in this election,” she added.
Urging his 22 million X followers to visit the When We All Vote website, Obama said: “Register to vote and text three friends to do the same.”
“Don’t sit on the sidelines this year, because this is a critical time for all of us,” she said.
In January, Obama said in an interview that he was scared about the November presidential election.
“I’m terrified of what could happen,” Obama said on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast.
“Because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who sits in the bully pulpit — it affects us in ways that I sometimes think people take for granted,” she said at the time.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
