Former first lady’s When We All Vote drive aims to register and rally young voters, while Al Sharpton plans sleepover on the streets of New York

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Michelle Obama touts voting drive

The former first lady launched a new initiative to get young people voting – When We All Vote – back in July and this week Michelle Obama announced a week of action in September to register and rally young voters.

Volunteers from the non-partisan When We All Vote and Obama herself will travel across the country to gee up potential voters before the midterms, Obama said. USA Today reported that “flagship events” will be held in 12 cities including New York, Miami and Chicago.

Play Video 1:36 Michelle Obama to hit the road for voter registration drive - video

Obama announced the drive in a video on Monday – the 53rd anniversary of the Voting Rights Act being signed into law.

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget all the work it took to get this law passed. All the organizing and marching. All the volunteers who registered voters. All the folks who, even if they knew they’d be turned away at the polls, stood up time and again for their right to vote,” Obama says in the video.

“Today, we want to honor their legacy and continue their work to ensure that every eligible American casts their vote.”

NFL protests II

Trump has been back at it again this week, lashing out at NFL players for demonstrating during the national anthem.

Players from several teams protested during the first round of pre-season games, drawing Trump’s ire. The president seemed to question whether some of the players understood what they were protesting for. Last weekend he attacked the intelligence of LeBron James in a late-night Twitter rant.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem. Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their “outrage” at something that most of them are unable to define. They make a fortune doing what they love......

“The NFL players are at it again,” Trump wrote on Friday. “Taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem. Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their “outrage” at something that most of them are unable to define.”

Sleepover protests planned by Al Sharpton

A group of activists aligned with the Rev Al Sharpton’s National Action Network are planning to protest violence in communities of color by spending 10 nights sleeping on the streets of New York City.

Leaders from the National Action Network, which was founded by Sharpton in 1991 to promote equal rights regardless of race, religion, ethnicity and more, will travel around the city’s five boroughs between 6 and 15 August.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Rev Al Sharpton. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

“The community is not going to ignore the plight of violence that our young people are experiencing,” activist Kirsten John Foy told the New York Daily News on Monday. Foy and others were camping close to the Cruz and Chiky Grocery in the Bronx, where Lesandro Guzman-Feliz was brutally killed – allegedly by members of the Trinitario gang – in June.

What we’re reading

Is Bernie “sputtering”? That’s what David Siders, at Politico, thinks. “In high-profile races across the country, Sanders-backed candidates continue to falter at the ballot box,” is Siders’ assessment of progressives electoral pushes around the country.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernie Sanders: is he failing? Photograph: Amy Kontras for The Guardian

Abdul El-Sayed, who Sanders campaigned for in Michigan, and Brent Welder, who Sanders backed in Kansas, both failed to win their primaries on Tuesday, which Siders says is representative of other electoral woes on the left. The plus side: while Sanders-backed candidates might have struggled recently in “top-tier races”, there have been successes at the local level.