Michelle Obama will deliver the keynote address at a democracy summit sponsored by a national, nonpartisan voting organization she helped create, the group announced Wednesday.
The former first lady’s June 13 remarks to When We All Vote’s inaugural Culture of Democracy Summit in Los Angeles will be her first in-person appearance before a large audience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said. She last addressed When We All Vote in person in 2018 before the midterm elections.
“We need to talk about the state of our democracy and the ways we can protect it right from our own communities,” Michelle Obama said in a tweet announcing the upcoming speech.
Artists, athletes, academics, grassroots organizers and technology, civic and corporate leaders are among the 1,500 people expected to participate.
“Democracy isn’t just a box we check every four years,” said Stephanie Young, executive director of When We We All Vote. “Voting must be embedded in all aspects of our culture.”