Our forever First Lady Michelle Obama continues to advocate for the marginalized people of our country like she is still in the White House. 

One of her many causes is getting young people activated around the issue of voter participation, which is why she is a co-chair of When We All Vote. The nonpartisan voting rights organization just recently announced that 20 high schools have won the 2020 Prom Challenge where their proms will be hosted by MTV and When We Vote. The students at those schools were lucky enough to receive a surprise announcement about their win by Zoom directly from Mrs. Obama herself. 

“I am proud, proud, proud of you guys!,” said Obama. “Look, let me just say this, the future of your communities and our country’s are in the hands of young people like you all. No pressure, but we’re counting on you. So, let’s show everyone what we can accomplish when we vote.”

The virtual event, called Prom-athon, will highlight students from 20 high schools across the country who “organized the most creative nonpartisan voter registration efforts in the country,” according to the press release about the event.
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Prom-athon will start with a prom takeover on MTV featuring prom-themed throwback movies and short-form original content highlighting the winning schools.

The virtual prom party will live stream digitally on Friday May 22 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV’s YouTube. Viewers should expect surprise celebrity guest appearances and live performances.
Congratulations to all the 2020 Prom Challenge winners:

● 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 U.S 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.