PNBC Picks Up Dr. King's Unfinished Fight for the Vote in the Carolinas, Georgia and Texas

PNBC launches The People's Revival, a nonpartisan voter education tour across seven cities in four states, partnering with AFL-CIO and Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sixty-five years after it was organized by Baptist leaders committed to civil rights, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC), which became Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s denominational home, is taking the fight for the ballot back on the road. The People's Revival, a nonpartisan voter education, mobilization and protection campaign led by PNBC with national tour partners the AFL-CIO and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, brings revival services, teach-ins and HBCU campus activations to seven cities in four states, timed to early voting.

The tour opens in Columbia, S.C., on Friday, Oct. 16, with a teach-in at Benedict College (11 a.m.) and a revival service at First Nazareth Baptist Church (7 p.m.), then moves to Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston on Saturday, Oct. 17, for a prayer breakfast (9 a.m.) and teach-in (11:30 a.m.). In North Carolina, Charlotte gathers at St. Paul Baptist Church on Monday, Oct. 19, for a teach-in and a 7 p.m. revival service, and Durham follows on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a teach-in and a 7 p.m. revival service at First Calvary Baptist Church. In Atlanta, the Revival comes home to the Heritage Sanctuary of Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King preached, on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. Dallas follows on Thursday, Oct. 29, with a teach-in at the John Lewis Social Justice Academy at Oliver Wendell Holmes, then a community phone-banking dinner (5:30 p.m.) and revival service (7 p.m.) at Friendship-West Baptist Church. The tour closes in Houston on Friday, Oct. 30, with a teach-in at Texas Southern University and a revival service at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church (7 p.m.). Stay tuned for additional dates and locations.

"This is more than a campaign. This is a movement. This is a revival of conscience, a revival of participation and a revival of the people's determination to make their voices heard."
— Rev. Dr. Keith W. Byrd Sr., President, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

Congregations nationwide can join the Revival from their own pulpits and pews. On Blessed Ballots Sundays (Oct. 4, 11, 18 and 25), congregations write postcards to infrequent voters during worship and lift them as an offering. Movement Mondays (Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26, 6:00–7:30 p.m. ET) are virtual phone and text banks with training included. Souls to the Polls carries congregations to vote early together, and Election Eve Prophetic Action gathers the Convention online on Monday, Nov. 2. Goals include 20,000+ postcards and 5,000+ calls and texts. Rev. Dr. Willie D. Francois III, chair of PNBC's Social Justice Commission, leads the campaign.

"The People's Revival may be traveling to four states, but the work belongs to all of us. Every PNBC church and every person who believes in the importance of the vote can participate. Write postcards. Send texts. Make calls. Help your neighbors get the information they need. A real revival ought to move us to action."
— Rev. Thomas L. Bowen, General Secretary, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

Rooted in Luke 4:18–19, The People's Revival does not support or oppose any candidate or party. Interview requests and media credentials: Dr. Tonya Merriweather Gipson Miller, 469.810.8718 (talk/text), pnbcpress (at) gmail (dot) com.

About PNBC: Founded in 1961 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. was organized by Baptist leaders committed to civil rights and was the denominational home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Guided by the principles of Fellowship, Progress, Service and Peace, PNBC reports more than 2.5 million members, including 1.5 million in the United States, and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Learn more at pnbc.org.

Dr. Tonya Merriweather Gipson Miller, Director of Media Rela
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
+1 469-810-8718
pnbcpress@gmail.com