WOMEN+POWER 2023: Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama says there’s no more “meaningful way” to mark Juneteenth than by registering to vote.

The former first lady made a voter registration pitch in a tweet to her more than 22 million followers that coincided with the federal holiday.

“Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom — a chance to pay tribute to countless advocates, activists, and change makers and the work they did to build a more perfect Union,” Obama wrote.

“I can’t think of a more meaningful way to honor the actions of so many who came before us than be registering to vote,” she added, including a link to the voter registration and engagement organization that she founded in 2018, When We All Vote.

Obama launched the “Get Her There” campaign with two prominent stakeholders to empower and educate adolescent girls in late 2022.

The campaign is a collaboration of Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clooney Foundation for Justice. Obama joined Melinda French Gates and Amal Clooney in New York City to launch the campaign.

The goal of “Get Her There,” according to Obama.org, is to help adolescent girls around the world “achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries.”

The trio spoke during a panel about the goal of the project and noted that millions of girls worldwide are forced to marry before the age of 18, which typically prompts them to drop out of school.

Clooney unpacked how girls who are “pushed into child marriage” fail to reach their full potential. She also noted how many of them “could’ve gone on to cure cancer or lead a country.”

“When we launched the Girls Opportunity Alliance four years ago today, we knew the key to advancing our work was an alliance of stakeholders coming together to support girls completing their education,” said Obama in a statement