COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Former First Lady Michelle Obama headlined a get-out-the-vote event on Tuesday evening in metro Atlanta, with election day just a week away.
The event was organized by the group When We All Vote and was described as "completely nonpartisan and not affiliated with any campaign or political party" and its aim is to "mobilize voters to continue taking (their) energy and their voices to the ballot box."
Among the speakers were Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Ciara, Kelly Rowland, Cari Champion, Nneka Ogwumike, Liza Koshy, Marsai Martin, Victoria Monét, Rita Wilson and others. But the crowd sometimes stole the show in anticipation of an election often described as vitally important.
The crowd leaned unabashedly democratic, but the message was strictly absent of partisan endorsement. It was: Go vote. It’s easy.
"Registering to vote is just as quick as creating a TikTok profile. It’s quicker than learning that viral dance," Victoria Monét told the crowd at an arena near the Atlanta airport.
The headliner was Michelle Obama, the former first lady, who spoke as a nonpartisan voting rights activist in what she described as a battle against indifference.
"Our absence is taken as our consent," she said about those in power. "They take our indifference as part of their mandate to do whatever they want."
She said that so many people are struggling to find their footing in this world and are battling higher levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness and frustration.
"More folks feel disillusioned, helpless to affect change in their own lives," she said. "That makes them increasingly more apathetic. And as a result, our priorities have gotten a little off whack."
She said she's seeing more and more people less interested in what's happening in their communities.
"We got folks excited to vote on reality shows but not willing to vote for their actual reality," she said to the crowd.
She said that without a vibrant democracy, Americans have no say in shaping their futures. She added that they don't have any ability to change anything at all.
"Our vote is our voice," she stated. "It is our power. It is the key to our ability to express ourselves and build the community and country we want to live in."
In general, Mrs. Obama’s visit came just days after her husband, the former president, made the case for Democrat Kamala Harris in DeKalb County.
"Who can you call while you’re sitting in this lovely Atlanta traffic," Mrs. Obama asked.
Her case was for her listeners to get active.
"You’ve got to start by being willing to make things a little uncomfortable with the folks you love," she chuckled.
Mrs. Obama noted Georgia’s 10,000 vote margin in the 2020 presidential election came down to four votes per precinct – a difference she said is worth considering next week.