Preacher to be delivered by President Biden at Martin Luther King’s Atlanta church

By Steve Holland

WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will be the first sitting American president who speaks at a Sunday Martin Luther King Jr. church service in Atlanta. He is trying to boost support among African Americans in preparation for his expected run for reelection in 2024.

Biden will give a sermon at Ebenezer Church to mark the national holiday that celebrates the slain civil-rights leader. Senator Raphael Warnock, Georgia.

Sunday would have been King’s 94th anniversary. At 39 years old, he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray, an avowed segregationist. King was pastor at Ebenezer church, from 1960 to his death.

Keisha Lance Bottoms (ex-Mayor of Atlanta and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement) told reporters that Biden would deliver remarks “reflecting Dr. King’s legacy” and how “we all can move forward together.”

She stated that he will address a range of issues, including “how important it is that our democracy be accessible to us all.”

Biden was one of the many presidents to visit Ebenezer to pay tribute, often during events that coincide with King’s birthday. According to Lance Bottoms, Biden would be the first person to speak from the pulpit during a regular morning worship service on Sunday.

Biden will speak to the National Action Network on Monday, which is a national holiday to honor King.

Biden is gearing up for an announcement in the coming weeks about his re-election bid.

After promising to do more to improve voting rights and address other racial injustice issues, Biden was elected to the White House in 2020. Some activist groups protested Biden’s 2022 speech in honor of King and were disappointed at his lack of action.

Lance Bottoms stated that “The president has done all he can in his executive powers” and would continue to do so. “Now we need Congress’s action.”

She said, “Ebenezer is a cornerstone in the Black community and I’m certain the president will get an opportunity to hear what our needs are and our wishes for our country.”

(Reporting and editing by Steve Holland; edited by Jonathan Oatis