STONECREST – New Birth Missionary Baptist Church , the largest land owner among Black churches in America, according to its Pastor Jamal Bryant, was jammed packed for Sunday service on the morning of October 20. Along with the weekly word, there was another message being sent, but not by a pastor. With only 16 days until Election Day, November 5, current United States Vice President and Democratic Party presidential nominee Kamala Harris was in the pulpit preaching the power of the vote.
“Black people are getting ready to elect the next President of the United States,” Bryant said.
This week can be defined as a make-or-break week for the Harris-Walz campaign. The emphasis being the woerd “make” in this case. The Vice President made several appearances on a number of political talk shows and radio programs, including Fox News and iHeart Radio. Her apperance at church on Sunday, dressed in a white bliuse and black skirt instead of her signature pant suits, made an impact on Black voters that may not be among the more than one million that voted during the first week of early voting.
As of Saturday night, more than 1.1 million Georgians voted early. Fulton County, the largest county in the state, has the most registered voters and most polling places, according to data provided by the Secretary of State’s Office.
More than 50 elected officials from around the state of Georgia attended Sunday service. The dignataries included the mother of Juneteenth, Dr. Opal Lee. Ms. Lee, 98, traveled to Stonecrest from Texas to attend service, Harris’ Pastor Dr. Amos C. Brown from San Francisco, and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
Harris thanked Bryant for his work on encouraging voter regsitration around the country and said it was good to be at New Birth on Pink Sunday. Harris’ late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a cancer researcher and civil rights activist.
When she spoke she used the parable of the Good Samaritan to make a point about leading the country as the Good Samaritan treated the man beaten and bloodied on the road. ‘In this moment across our country, what we do see is someone trying to sew chaos,” Harris said without mentioning the name of her political opponent. “This is a moment that is challenging us of faith. This is a moment that is challenging our fundamental faith. Faith is a verb. We show it in action and in our deeds and in our service.”
She made point of mentionng how people in Georgia took care of each other in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Harris was in Augusta days after Helene devasted so many of the city’s neighborhoods.
“Let us look where we are and understand the Gospel of Luke. In this moment our country is at a crossroad. What kind of country do we want to live?,” said Harris.
Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice
During Bryant’s sermon, he made a point of saying that men need to support women. “It was a sister that raised you, it was a sister that taught you how to read. It takes a real man to support a woman.”
Bryant’s message to Harris: “You were born for such a time as this.”
98-year-old Lee got on her feet during the sermon. The message, at least for this day, was clear: Black Atlanta, Black Georgia is in full support of Harris.
