Michelle Obama: Honor Juneteenth’s legacy by registering to vote

Michelle Obama says there’s no more “meaningful way” to mark Juneteenth than by registering to vote.

The former first lady made a voter registration pitch Monday in a tweet to her more than 22 million followers that coincided with the federal holiday.

“Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom — a chance to pay tribute to countless advocates, activists, and changemakers and the work they did to build a more perfect Union,” Obama wrote.

“I can’t think of a more meaningful way to honor the actions of so many who came before us than be registering to vote,” she added, including a link to the voter registration and engagement organization that she founded in 2018, When We All Vote.

Juneteenth, the country’s youngest federal holiday, commemorates the last of the enslaved people being freed by Union forces in Galveston in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It became a federal holiday in 2021.

Former President Obama also paid tribute to Juneteenth in a Monday message.

“On Juneteenth, we commemorate the anniversary of the delayed but welcome news of freedom reaching the enslaved Black folks in Galveston, Texas,” he tweeted.

“It’s a reminder that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope — and a reason to keep building a country that lives up to its highest ideals.”