Biden will head to Warnock’s Atlanta church for MLK Day speech

President Biden's Jan. 15 visit to Ebenezer Baptist Church comes on the eve of Martin Luther King Day and what would have been the civil rights icon's 94th birthday.

President Joe Biden will attend Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock’s church in Atlanta on Sunday, delivering a Martin Luther King Day speech on the eve of the federal holiday honoring the late civil rights leader.

Warnock serves as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also served as preacher from 1960 until his death. As reported by Bloomberg, Warnock defeated former NFL star Herschel Walker in December, in Georgia’s Senate runoff election, solidifying Democratic control of the Senate until at least 2024.

President Joe Biden, Raphael Warnock, Atlanta
In this January 2021 photo, President-elect Joe Biden, (right) is shown campaigning for then-Senate candidate Raphael Warnock (left) in Atlanta. Biden will attend Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. preached and now-Senator Warnock currently serves as senior pastor, on Sunday, Jan. 15 in honor of MLK Day. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Biden’s Jan. 15 visit will come on the day King was born in 1929; MLK Day commemorates the birthday of the inspirational Black activist-icon, who would have turned 94 this year.

As noted by The Jerusalem Post, King’s funeral was also held at Ebenezer Baptist following his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

The church has a long history of civil rights activity. Over the years, several United States presidents and other influential U.S. leaders have made the journey there.

It’s also home to a collaboration with the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Resources Collaborative, which offers various beneficial social services — including income tax assistance, youth housing and emergency housing — to Atlanta residents in need.

According to Bloomberg, the subject of the president’s speech was not made clear in the White House’s announcement Sunday.

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