![EXCLUSIVE: Former First Lady Michelle Obama steps out with friends Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa at celebrity restaurant Polo Bar in New York City. The two families have been friends since The Boss campaigned for Barack Obama during his successful run for the White House in 2008. Michelle famously told her President husband he needed to spend more time with Springsteen. Both men have talked about their friendship — fortified in part by the bond between their wives, Michelle and Patti. In the first episode of a podcast, called Renegades, Obama, 59, said he and Springsteen, 71, "grew to trust each other" based on conversations in which they reflected on feeling "invisible" throughout their childhoods. Springsteen sang with a gospel choir at the newly elected president's inauguration in 2009 and later recalled how he thought Obama had the wrong number the first time the Chicago Democrat called him. "And I said, 'OK, let me figure this out. I am a guitar-playing high school graduate from Freehold, New Jersey. And — OK — you want me to do what?" Springsteen said. Over the years, both have realized they had more in common than they initially realized. Namely, that they both felt like outsiders. "I always kept one foot in sort of the blue collar world and one foot in the counter culture world," Springsteen said of growing up in New Jersey. "And I never truly belonged completely in either of them, you know?". 28 Sep 2022 Pictured: Michelle Obama. Photo credit: ZapatA/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA902427_026.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/michelle-obama-nyc-mega.jpg?quality=100&w=293)
Without major events, like music festivals and rallies, Michelle Obama‘s nonpartisan, non profit organization called When We All Vote has become even more innovative with their approach to registering young people ahead of the 2020 election. This Saturday, June 27 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, along with The Roots, the organization is launching the 13th Annual Roots Picnic as a virtual broadcast experience and Call To Action event, to register people to vote.
“We are going to do a volunteer activation and we’re hoping to text 500,000 people [to get registered]. We already know that 15,000 people have signed up [to attend the virtual picnic], so we need even more folks to sign up to be a part of this moment,” explained Stephanie Young, Chief Communications Officer for Communications, Culture and Media Partnerships at When We All Vote. In their last digital event with DJ D Nice, the organization, with the help of their celebrity friends like Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and even Oprah and Naomi Campbell, texted over 400,000 eligible voters.
When We All Vote was started by the former First Lady six months prior to the 2018 midterm elections with the goal of increasing voter turnout, especially among young people and within the Black community. She was motivated by the fact that the 2016 election had a 20 year low in voter turnout. After a strong increase in voting thanks to their efforts and those of others in the midterm elections, the When We All Vote team had to quickly take their strategy digital once the Coronavirus began.
“One thing we started to do is just try to figure out how to throw blow out digital events that are fun and engaging and staying true to who we are as an organization, which means staying in culture,” Stephanie added in an EXCLUSIVE interview on the HollywoodLife podcast. “That DJ D Nice couch party showed us right there that there’s a lot of power when we come together and are creative, and we have the right people and tap into the right moment.”
This Friday, Questlove, Black Thought and Michelle Obama will host the virtual picnic on YouTube, that will feature a number of incredible and diverse performances, from artists such as H.E.R., Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch and SZA. Plus, When We All Vote’s active body of celebrity co-chairs will be in attendance, which includes Liza Koshy, Chris Paul, Kerry Washington and Tracee Ellis Ross. “This is another moment where we’re trying to monopolize and take over a digital platform and get people engaged through voter registration, because we don’t have that space where we can physically be together, but this is helpful,” Stephanie said.
If you’ve been activated by the BLM movement and the George Floyd protests, and you’ve heard the call from President Obama to not just protest but vote, then you can volunteer with When We All Vote as a way to turn your protest into political action. “If you want to do something good for the community, and you’ve been protesting or thinking about ways you can get involved, this is a great opportunity to tap in,” added Crystal Carson, Communications Director of When We All Vote. “We’re going to have a pre-party with some amazing people we haven’t announced yet, and you’ll be trained on our technology called Outvote, where you’ll learn how to text unregistered voters with us and you can be a part of us reaching that 500,000 person goal.” You can sign-up to be part of the pre-party and volunteer to help register voters here.
Available NOW and continuing throughout the broadcast, there will be a call to action to allow fans to register to vote at https://weall.vote/rootspicnic or by texting ROOTS to 56005. Be sure to tune in to The Roots YouTube page on Saturday, June 27th at 8 PM ET to join the picnic!
You can also register to vote here, on HollywoodLife.com, using the box down below!