Local groups participate in national voting rights event Saturday

South Gwinnett High School in Snellville is one of the meeting points for a motorcade event Saturday. CONTRIBUTED AJC FILE PHOTO

South Gwinnett High School in Snellville is one of the meeting points for a motorcade event Saturday. CONTRIBUTED AJC FILE PHOTO

As part of a national effort to protect voting rights, local groups are participating in a Saturday event honoring former Rep. John Lewis.

The “votercades” are scheduled in dozens of cities across the country on Saturday. Meant to push for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the events echo earlier motorcades used to increase voter turnout.

One will begin in Walton and Gwinnett counties at 2 p.m. and end in Loganville at 3:30 p.m. The Georgia event is sponsored by the Economic Justice Coalition and the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda.

Drivers will be escorted by local officers. The motorcades will end at Meridian Park in Loganville, where food will be provided and a DJ will play.

Drivers will go to the park from South Gwinnett High School’s softball field in Snellville, the First African Baptist Church in Monroe and Phillips Mortuary in Social Circle.

For more information, see https://www.johnlewisdayofaction.org/.