President Biden to Sermon at Martin Luther King Church in Atlanta By Reuters
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden leaves the White House to board a Marine One helicopter for Delaware from the White House in Washington, USA January 13, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Steve Holland
WILMINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will become the first sitting U.S. president to speak at a Sunday service at Martin Luther King Jr. Church in Atlanta as he seeks to rally support among African Americans ahead of an expected run for the U.S. presidency. re-election in 2024.
To commemorate the national holiday dedicated to the slain civil rights leader, Biden will deliver a sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church at the invitation of its pastor, Democratic US Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
King would have turned 94 on Sunday. He was murdered at the age of 39 in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee by prominent segregationist James Earl Ray. King was the pastor of Ebenezer Church from 1960 until his death.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta and director of the White House Office of Public Affairs, told reporters Friday that Biden “will make remarks reflecting the life and legacy of Dr. King” and how “we can move forward together.”
He will speak on a number of issues, “including how important it is that we have access to our democracy,” she said.
Many presidents, including Biden, have visited Ebenezer to pay tribute to King, usually during events to celebrate his birthday. But on Sunday, Biden will be the first to speak from the pulpit at the regular morning service, according to Lance Bottoms.
On Monday, a national holiday in honor of the king, Biden will meet with civil rights advocate Al Sharpton in Washington and speak with his group, the National Action Network.
The Atlanta visit comes as Biden prepares for what is expected to be his re-election announcement in the coming weeks.
Biden was elected in 2020 with the strong support of black voters after promising to do more to expand voting rights and address other issues of racial justice. But some activist groups boycotted his 2022 speech in honor of King, frustrated by what they see as his inaction.
“The President has done and will continue to do everything in his power within his executive power,” Lance Bottoms said. “Now we need Congress to act.”
“Ebenezer is the cornerstone of the black community, and I’m confident that the President will listen to our needs and our desires for our country,” she said.
