Michelle Obama founded When We All Vote in 2018 to increase participation in each and every election, change the culture around voting, close the race and age voting gaps, and fight against voter suppression. Seven years later, our fight continues.
Our fight continues because Black Americans are overwhelmed and exhausted by the news cycle and constant attacks on our communities.
Our fight continues because, as the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act approaches, our democracy is being stretched to its limits by targeted and unabashed voter suppression.
Our fight continues because, in 2025, we need a revived movement for democracy — and this work begins on the ground and in the culture.
For nearly 50 years, the Voting Rights Act fulfilled its promise to decrease the voter participation gap between white and Black voters. But its subsequent gutting in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision created a path for the voter suppression policies we see today: Southern Black voters experience the closure of thousands of polling locations as they wait in line for hours before casting their ballots. Young, Black, and lower-income Americans are discouraged by voter ID laws as they attempt to register and vote in the nine states that passed stricter laws after the 2020 election. And year after year, voters across the nation witness their state legislators push laws that make it harder to vote, with more than 300 such bills proposed in 2024 alone and 218 in 2025 so far.
To be clear, there is a path forward. Through education, political engagement, power building, and community investment, we can shape the next generation of Black America. And as organizations commit to this work and adapt the fight for our voting rights, we must draw inspiration from the strategies employed by those who built our movement’s momentum.
Across the nation in the 1950s and early 1960s, Black communities organized in their cities and states in the pursuit of a stronger, more equitable democracy. From Georgia’s Atlanta Negro Voters League to Alabama’s Lowndes County Freedom Organization, local organizations provided Black residents with voter registration assistance, education on election processes, and transportation on Election Day. As musicians like Sam Cooke and Nina Simone made music the heartbeat of the movement, writers like James Baldwin and Maya Angelou gave voice to the struggle. Together, Black Americans used voter engagement and cultural expression to raise awareness and envision a liberated future. At When We All Vote, we focus on bringing voting to the culture — not just for fun, but to authentically connect with Black voters and help them see the power of using their voices, just as Black leaders and artists have been doing for generations.
From our live coverage of Beyoncé’s Grammys win and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance to the Black artists and poets we uplift, we celebrate cultural moments as they happen alongside our audience. Black culture is a continued source of strength for our community, and organizations working to change the culture around voting in our community must be in the culture itself — recognizing the role of art, film, and literature in shaping today’s racial justice and voting rights’ narratives. By prioritizing and partnering with Black-owned media partners and storytellers across our channels and events, we work to sustain nonpartisan political engagement and turn the momentum into civic action. And we don’t just do this work online; we’re on the ground too, working with community organizations, music festivals, and more to bring democracy and voting directly to the people.
Cultural expression is a tool of liberation showing us that substantial, systemic change does not occur in a vacuum. It happens through both culture and community work. For example, the Voting Rights Act was made possible not by the stroke of a president’s pen, but by decades of deep organizing, art inspiring action, and protests. Together, we are doing this work again.
We can empower Black Americans to shape the next chapter of our democracy from the ground up by reimagining voter education and registration. With 63% of Gen Z getting their news from social media at least once a week, When We All Vote meets voters online with voter registration and election reminders, information about what’s on the ballot, and resources to help them get to their polling places and vote. And while our work garnered 150 million social media impressions last year, knocking on digital doors is not a substitute for meeting face-to-face and on-the-ground organizing. To meet this need during the 2024 election cycle, When We All Vote launched a nationwide tour to educate and register voters in person at the biggest events of the summer, created space for voters to joyfully cast their ballots early through our Party at the Polls program, and partnered with rideshare companies to provide free and discounted transportation to the ballot box. We trained and equipped more than 22,000 volunteers and 200 high school students to go out and register voters in their communities, recognizing that — like in the 50s and 60s — neighbors and classmates are often the best messengers when it comes to voting.
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, we’re reminded that voting is not seasonal — it is a continuous act of power. Our Founder and Co-Chair Michelle Obama reminded first-time voters in Georgia last year, “the primary road to building real power — or dismantling someone else’s — runs straight through the ballot box.” And Black voters are not just numbers; we are history, we are power, and we are the future of American democracy. As we fight to protect and strengthen our democracy, we need to build an educated and engaged Black electorate. The power of the people is still greater than the people in power. Our work does not end at the ballot box; it starts at the ballot box, in culture, and on the ground — person to person, neighbor to neighbor, and friend to friend.
