Bishop William Barber to deliver voting rights sermon in Atlanta Sunday

National civil rights and religious leader Bishop William J. Barber II is set to deliver a major sermon in Atlanta Sunday focused on voter turnout and political power among Black and low-wage voters.

Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach, will speak at historic Big Bethel AME Church on Auburn Avenue at 5 p.m. Sunday during an event titled "The Promise of the Vote: An Evening Celebrating Courage, Community, and Democracy."

Organizers say Barber's sermon will focus on the potential influence of Black and low-wage voters in Southern elections and make the case that increasing turnout among people who vote infrequently could reshape political outcomes.

The Atlanta appearance is one stop on Barber's national speaking tour supporting "100 Days; 1,000 Marches to the Polls," a voter mobilization campaign organized by Repairers of the Breach and the Moral Monday Public Pulpit.

The initiative aims to reach 5 million low-wage, infrequent voters, particularly across the South and in battleground states. Organizers say the campaign will use peer-to-peer text messages, phone banking, door-to-door canvassing and organized marches to voting locations.

Repairers of the Breach says more than 40 organizations have joined the effort so far, with more than 200 local groups planning individual marches.

The organization describes the marches as nonviolent and nonpartisan, with local groups encouraged to organize around the beginning of early voting in their states.

Barber, a longtime voting rights and anti-poverty advocate, has made increasing participation among low-income Americans a central theme of his national organizing work.

His Atlanta sermon comes as political campaigns and outside organizations ramp up voter outreach ahead of elections this fall.

Sunday's event begins at 5 p.m. at Big Bethel AME Church, located at 220 Auburn Ave. NE in Atlanta.