WS Chronicle

N.C. NAACP President Barber to speak

SPECIAL TO  THE CHRONICLE

Seeing a need to increase voter turnout in North Carolina, Bishop Sir Walter Mack Jr., pastor of and teacher at Union Baptist Church, is setting the First Sunday in November to reinforce the importance of getting out to the polls to vote.

This service at the church, 1200 N. Trade St., comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the North Carolina NAACP against the North Carolina State Board of Elections, alleging that state officials in at least three counties have canceled “thousands” of voter registrations.

Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, will speak at Union Baptist Church on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m. This non-partisan service is being held as a part of the church’s efforts to increase voter registration, education, and voter participation.  During the service, there will be a prayer for all candidates. The service is open to the community.

According to CNN, early voting among African-Americans voters in North Carolina has dropped to 23 percent, down from 29 percent four years ago when President Obama was on ballot.

Bishop Mack is one of many pastors across the state who is leading his congregation to participate in the Faith Ambassadors initiative.  Since the summer, the church has held voter registration drives, collected voter pledge cards from the congregation, increased voter education and awareness and distributed non-partisan voter education materials.

On Sunday, Oct. 16, a theatrical drama was presented with emphasis on voting and Early Voting information was distributed.

Dr. Barber – president of the North Carolina NAACP and convener of the Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) Peoples Assembly Coalition, a broad alliance of more than 140 progressive organizations with over 2 million memberships to champion a 14 point anti-racism, anti-poverty, anti-war agenda –is very much in the national spotlight.

Dr. Barber and this coalition has aided in the passage of the Racial Justice Act of 2009, which allowed death row inmates to appeal their sentences on the grounds of racial bias in the court system; and successfully advocated for voting reforms such as same-day registration and early voting, and has re-framed marriage equality as a civil rights issue and helped mobilized black churches to support a ballot initiative in 2012.

Political candidates who will be attending the service on Sunday are asked to contact the church office at 336-724-9305, ext. 222 to RSVP.