Group asked to talk at site

Just three days before Georgia voters will cast their ballots in a presidential preference primary election, Democratic hopefuls are scheduled to speak at Tabernacle Baptist Church, in the heart of Augusta's historically black Laney-Walker neighborhood.

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Rep. Tyrone Brooks, the president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, confirmed Wednesday that letters are being sent this week to invite presidential candidates to a Feb. 28 political forum. The forum will coincide with the association's annual winter meeting, which is being held at Tabernacle this year.

"We decided that since we're having the annual winter board meeting that we would invite those candidates who are still running for their party's nomination for president to speak - not only to our board, but also to Richmond County and the CSRA," Mr. Brooks said Wednesday.

Each candidate will be given 10 minutes to speak, and time will be set aside for a question-and-answer period with board members and the public, Mr. Brooks said.

Tabernacle Baptist, founded in Augusta in 1885, has played host to some of the nation's most important political figures.

During the civil rights era, the church served as a meeting place and office site for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is among those who spoke from the sanctuary's pulpit.

President Taft often visited Tabernacle for Sunday services.

"That is not unusual for Tabernacle," the Rev. Otis Moss, the pastor of the church, said Wednesday.

"We have hosted several presidential candidates and presidents at the church," he said. "We have always had a history of inviting a variety of people, Democrats and Republicans, at the church."

Although Republican candidates have been invited to attend, including President Bush, officials expect the forum to be attended mostly by Democratic hopefuls who have successfully navigated through primary elections in other states.

Before Georgia's March 2 election, presidential primary elections will be held in a dozen other states.

Reach Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 823-3215 or heidi.williams@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Thursday, January 8, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle