Authorization event held Sunday to close out early voting in Alachua County.

Early voting in the greater Gainesville area and Alachua County will end with the help of the Empowerment Sunday – From Spirits to Polls event.

The get-out-the-vote rally will be held Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m. on Northeast First Street in downtown Gainesville, just east of Gainesville. Alachua County Elections Office Supervisor.

like that sponsored By Alachua County African American Accountability Alliance (4As), Alachua County chapter NAACP, All Florida Education Fund, Black Voters Matter, Community Impact Corporation, Pastor Malcom Dixon, Vision Ministries Community Outreach and Empowerment Inc., Mike Powell, Divine 9 , Juanita Miles-Hamilton and the city of Gainesville.

Priest Karl “Reverend.” Anderson, pastor of Upper Room Ministries in Greater Gainesville, will once again serve as the event’s emcee.

Guardian Newsletter: Gainesville Guardian will switch to email newsletter format

“I have always represented Souls at Polls and Empowerment Sunday events in Gainesville because our voice is our vote,” Anderson said, adding that the event is a cultural tradition in the Black community, particularly a way to get church members to vote. early.

“Our mission is to educate, encourage and empower, and I am happy to be a part of it,” Anderson said. “If you are part of the democratic process, you play a role in influencing society. Your voice is power and your vote determines who will be in the seat of power.”

Anderson said the organizations sponsoring the event are non-partisan.

“We’re not telling you who to vote for, we’re just telling you to go out and vote,” Anderson said.

This year, the event’s special guest will be national recording artist and actress Ann Nesby, and former lead singer of the band Sounds of Blackness, who recorded the inspirational song “Optimistic.”

In addition to performances by Nesby and local talent, the highlight of the event will be candidates vying for the nomination, informing voters about their platforms, and the 4As and NAACP speaking about initiatives on the ballot.

Similar events are held across the country and are especially important in minority communities such as the Black community because of the sacrifices made by people in the past to ensure Black people received the right to vote, which they were not always guaranteed until the Vote. Rodney Long, president of the 4As, said the Bill of Rights 1965.

“The importance of this event is to show continued support in our community for the many people who came before us to give us the right to vote,” Long said. “We’re doing things like this to attract people to the event after church to come out and vote and get a free lunch while learning more about the candidates and the issues. Hopefully we’re doing this across the country to get people to vote no matter who they vote for.”

This article first appeared in The Gainesville Sun: Empowerment Sunday – Souls head to the polls in Gainesville on Sunday