It’s not really a prom because there are no proms in 2020 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Everything is virtual now and that includes high school proms. Not wanting to let a public health crisis go to waste, Michelle Obama has teamed up with MTV to encourage high school students to register to vote and show up on election day.
In 2018 the former first lady launched When We All Vote with the stated goal of “changing the culture around voting”. From the website: “When We All Vote is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit that brings together citizens, institutions, brands, and organizations to increase participation in every election. We are committed to closing the race and age voting gap and empowering all eligible voters to cast their ballot by harnessing grassroots energy, establishing strategic partnerships, and implementing digital organizing strategies.” Lofty goals, right?
I call malarkey on the assertion that the organization is nonpartisan, by the way. I have yet to see any Republicans or conservatives with whom she has teamed up for any of the organization’s events to increase voter registration among young voters. Co-founders listed on the website are all liberal celebrities, all Barack Obama supporters: Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe, Chris Paul, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw.
Like the virtual commencement speeches delivered by liberal celebrities and public figures, MTV’s Prom-athon will be live-streamed, this time on MTV’s YouTube channel. What is being billed as a virtual prom event to honor the Class of 2020, it is scheduled for Friday, May 22.
Prom-athon is a daylong on-air takeover on MTV featuring all things prom. It will include throwback movies and short-form original content in the lead-up to the 90-minute virtual prom party, which will live stream digitally at 9pm ET on MTV YouTube. MTV’s Prom-athon will feature special celebrity appearances and live performances to be announced soon.
The partnership will include the 2020 Prom Challenge — a celebration to shine a light on 20 winning high schools and students who organized the most creative nonpartisan voter registration efforts in the country. After all not only will these students graduate from high school this year, most will be eligible to vote in November’s national election.
During a Zoom call last week, Michelle Obama announced the 20 winning high schools of the 2020 Prom Challenge. You may notice something I did about the winning schools – all are in states that are important to the presidential election in November. Yes, all states are important but most of these states are often considered swing states or a state that Democrats hope to pick up this cycle, like Texas and Arizona. (Biden won’t win Texas but Democrats are working hard to make inroads, especially down-ballot.)
Dobson High School (Mesa, AZ) invited celebrities like Natalie Portman to visit their school and help bolster registration rates.
Western School of Science & Technology’s (Phoenix, AZ) Prom Committee organized to register 84% of seniors to vote.
Norte Vista High School (Riverside, CA) began registering members of their community to vote after all eligible students were registered.Compton Early College High School (Compton, CA) has made it their mission to pre-register and register every 16 and 18 year old, and nearly 100% of seniors have registered.
Community Charter Early College High School (Lake View Terrace, CA) informed students about how to register to vote and important election information during daily announcements, homeroom and government courses.
Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School (Washington, DC) made registering to vote a part of school spirit, and registered 100% of the senior class.
Hialeah Gardens High School (Hialeah Gardens, FL) hosted a voter registration drive where nearly 200 students registered to vote and continue to organize digitally.
Meadowcreek High School (Norcross, GA) changed the culture around voting in their school through “Woke Wednesdays,” where they educated one another about local voting laws, elections and other important issues.
TF North High School (Calumet City, IL) worked with their state senator to amend the election code, giving students two hours away from school to vote without penalty.
Muchin College Prep (Chicago, IL) registered 98% of eligible students through lessons on the history and importance of voting.
Communication and Media Arts High School (Detroit, MI) created a Voting Squad and hosted two days of action that resulted in 99% of eligible students registering.
John F. Kennedy High School (Winston-Salem, NC) created a culture around voting in their school by promoting voter registration during open houses, parent-teacher conferences and other school-wide events.
R.J. Reynolds High School (Winston-Salem, NC) started having conversations as a school community about voting, and nearly 100 students have registered to vote.
Valley High School (Las Vegas, NV) hosted events during lunch around voting, and about 250 students registered to vote.
Cass Technical High School (Detroit, MI) registered more than 400 students through pep rallies and other events.STEM Academy at Showalter (Chester, PA) students are going beyond their school, and registering community members to vote as well.
Abraham Lincoln High School (Philadelphia, PA) students celebrate their “Almost” 18th birthdays by registering to vote.
Building 21 High School (Allentown, PA) integrated voter registration into their US Government course.Westbury High School (Houston, TX) students created a video to dispel myths about voting as a school community and encourage one another to not only register, but show up for local and national elections.
Golda Meir High School (Milwaukee, WI) students who are registered marched to city hall to rally around the power of the youth vote.
Get out the vote efforts on a national level, especially with young voters has been a focus of both Obamas since he was president. Private citizens now but still with large social media followings, the Obamas clearly intend to remain active and also campaign for Joe Biden. These virtual events in 2020 are essentially turning into in-kind donations to the Biden campaign, especially as Barack Obama attacks President Trump and his administration. Michelle Obama brings on woke celebrities to capture the attention of high school students, all who have publicly criticized the president. The indoctrination into leftist politics during their high school years is topped off with the same politicization during what should be celebrations of all students. Sorry, future conservative voters.
I’m so proud of these students, who each registered their classmates and community to vote. These are the kind of actions that make all the difference.
To celebrate these young people, join us on May 22 for #MTVPromathon with @MTV & @WhenWeAllVote. RSVP: https://t.co/ggVjRpS3CU pic.twitter.com/njiqDpOcGy
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 15, 2020
