Joe Biden, fresh off a victory in South Carolina propelled by black voters, on Sunday commemorated a landmark civil rights march in Alabama, where some worshippers at an African-American church turned their backs on his rival Michael Bloomberg.
Mr Biden and the others competing for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in November hit the campaign trail before Super Tuesday nominating contests in 14 states including Alabama.
His win in Saturday’s South Carolina primary galvanised his campaign, and the current front-runner, Bernie Sanders, traded jabs on Sunday news shows.
Mr Bloomberg, a former New York mayor, received a chilly reception at the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma after pastor Reverend Leodis Strong told the gathering the billionaire businessman initially had turned down the invitation to speak.
“I was hurt, I was disappointed,” Mr Strong said as Mr Bloomberg looked on stonily.
“I think it’s important that he came, and it shows a willingness on his part to change.”
Ten people stood up and turned their backs on Mr Bloomberg as he spoke about racial inequality.
Rev. Leodis Stron and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg Source: Getty Images
“I think it’s just an insult for him to come here. It’s the disrespect for the legacy of this place,” Lisa Brown, who travelled to Selma from Los Angeles.
She said the idea to protest Mr Bloomberg’s remarks had circulated but she stood as an individual, not an organised group.
The quiet protest suggested Mr Bloomberg may have an uphill climb with some black voters, who have supported Mr Biden in large numbers and carried him to a resounding victory in South Carolina.
Mr Biden and Mr Bloomberg were trying to present themselves as the party’s best choice to take on Mr Trump, arguing that Mr Sanders was too far to the left to win the general election.
At the church in Selma, the vice president to the country’s first African American president, Barack Obama, was clearly the favourite.
The candidates were in Selma to mark the 55th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when civil rights marchers were beaten by state troopers and local police while crossing a bridge in Selma.
Mr Bloomberg skipped the first four state nominating contests including South Carolina but has blanketed the nation with about $500 million in advertising and will be on the ballot for the first time on Tuesday, when the biggest prizes are California and Texas.
He has made a concerted effort to reach out to black voters, including apologies for overseeing an increase in the use of a police practice called “stop and frisk” in New York City that disproportionately affected black and other racial minority residents. A federal judge found the practice was an unconstitutional form of racial profiling.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll of registered Democrats and independents, conducted on 19-25 February, showed Mr Bloomberg garnering the support of 20 per cent of black voters, third among the Democratic candidates behind Mr Sanders at 26 per cent and Mr Biden, 23 per cent.
At least five Super Tuesday states - Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Virginia - have big blocs of African-American voters.
