2020 presidential hopefuls refocus on SC, return for historic King Day at the Dome
Eight Democratic presidential hopefuls pushed pause — at least for a few hours — on their dizzying Iowa and New Hampshire campaign schedules Monday to commemorate Martin Luther King Day in South Carolina at the NAACP’s 20th anniversary of King Day at the Dome.
Braving freezing temperatures and putting aside any contention between them, the candidates locked arm-in-arm as they made their way from a prayer service at Zion Baptist down Washington Street, then turned down Main Street and marched toward the State House to the sound of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech playing over loudspeakers on the Capitol grounds.
“Today, I marched down this street with optimism because I feel hope, I see hope,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said into a microphone to a crowd that state public safety officials estimated was at least 2,500 people. “America is ready to move beyond this dark moment of Donald Trump. America is ready to go forward, to write the next chapter of our history.”
King Day at the Dome carries historical significance in South Carolina, starting 20 years ago when protesters stood outside the State House demanding the Legislature take the Confederate battle flag down from atop the State House dome where it flew underneath the United States and South Carolina flags. Through a legislative deal, the flag was eventually moved to another prominent spot on the grounds, next to the Confederate Soldier Monument, facing the busy intersection of Gervais and Main streets.
In 2015, the Legislature completely removed the flag after nine black churchgoers, including state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, were killed by a white gunman at Charleston’s historic Mother Emanuel AME Church.
On Monday, some speakers said the fight against what the flag represents persists.
“Yes, at the expense of the lives of many good people of Mother Emanuel Church of Charleston, the flag has come down,” James Gallman, the former president of the South Carolina NAACP, told the crowd gathered for Monday’s King Day rally. “But the Confederate mindset of many who occupy this house still exist.”
But King Day also has become symbolic politically for presidential candidates hoping to court African American voters — roughly two-thirds of the state’s Democratic Party primary voting electorate. The fight for those votes will only intensify in coming weeks with the state’s Feb. 29 Democratic presidential primary almost just a month away.
Stumping at King Day, candidates echoed familiar phrases and policy stances made during campaign stops or on the debate stage.
Former Vice President Joe Biden talked about restoring the soul of America and driving out hate.
“I think we’re at the second inflection point of the civil rights movement in America,” Biden said. “We have to work twice as hard together to get out of the situation that we find ourselves in.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, meanwhile, called for Americans to stand together and complete King’s journey.
“Brothers and sisters, the legacy of Dr. King is to have courage,” Sanders said. “This was a man who stood up to the establishment of his time.”
‘They should be here’
Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Issac Devine, who has shepherded several of the 2020 candidates around the Columbia area, noted the importance of campaigning at King Day for the state’s first-in-the-South primary. “It’s a single opportunity they (candidates) will have to talk to a really large group of mostly African Americans.”
Still, not all the candidates took the microphone.
Eight presidential candidates attended some or all of the King Day at the Dome events Monday: Biden; Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana; U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts; Sanders; billionaire Tom Steyer and Warren.
Steyer called on candidates to put their issues aside, saying “This is not the time for the people who are running for president to bicker and complain.”
Deval Patrick, a late entrant into the race, got his first opportunity to speak to hundreds of S.C. voters. He spoke for more than 13 minutes, longer than any of the candidates who took the stage.
Buttigieg attended Monday’s march but left early and did not speak.
Buttigieg’s campaign initially said he would be in Iowa attending another event aimed at courting black voters, but later his campaign appeared to bow to pressure, instead sending him to South Carolina, then pulling him back to Iowa. Buttigieg attended a Columbia Urban League breakfast at Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia Monday morning, then came to Zion Baptist where he marched with the other candidates.
But leaving without speaking at the rally was the second time Buttigieg has missed a key chance to court hundreds of black voters. He also did not attend U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s “World Famous Fish Fry” last year, instead, staying home to deal with an officer-involved shooting in his community.
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is not competing in the early-voting states but has put some of his multimillion-dollar ad spending there — was scheduled to attend plans to join a King Day parade in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tech businessman Andrew Yang missed King Day because he is in the midst of a 17-day bus tour of Iowa and plans to remain there.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado and John Delaney, a former Maryland congressman, also did not attend the King Day events in Columbia. Bennet and Delaney were in Iowa for the Brown and Black Forum, their Twitter posts showed.
“What it says, if you want to speak to the African American population, specifically here in South Carolina, you should be here and I think that there are ways to make sure you are present in other states,” said Issac Devine. “We’re not the most important state. We understand that. But this is a very important state when it talks about who is going to be our next president, and we’ve shown that we pick presidents here and they should be here.”
Courting voters
Attendees who talked to The State had a mix of presidential politics and King’s legacy on their minds.
Virginia Sanders of Columbia, a frequent King Day attendee, said the march every year gives her hope.
“I knew if we fought hard enough and pushed back harder, change had to come,” Sanders, 77, said. “You can’t be complicit in this world. You can’t sit back and expect things to happen because it’s the right thing to happen. You have to be out there working and fighting to make it happen.”
Sanders also came to support the candidate who shares her last name.
“He’s not willing to settle for the way things are now,” she said of Sanders, the U.S. senator making his second run at the White House. “We need a revolution in this country. We need change in this country.”
Kowon Kelly, 39, of Lexington, said Monday was her first visit back to King Day since 2010.
She said this year was different because she wanted to get her children involved and teach them about King’s legacy. But as for picking a candidate, Kelly said she is still undecided but studying billionaire Tom Steyer.
“It takes a lot before we make a decision like that,” Kelly said.
Walter Davis, 72, shared a similar sentiment, telling The State his choices are between Sanders, Buttigieg and Warren.
“I always like to (wait) until the last minute,” Davis said.
However, for several South Carolinians The State spoke with on Monday, many had made their decision.
“I was really going for (Kamala) Harris, but since she dropped out, I will go for (Joe) Biden because I think he is the best one,” said Mary Harts, 79, of Columbia. “Well, No. 1 he was with Obama, and I feel like if he needs a little help, Obama will help him.”
Longtime friends Jim Crosby, 75, and Rody Egister, 70, said both of their first choices are the former vice president.
But, if given the chance to craft a ticket?
“We’re pulling for a ticket a lot of people aren’t going to pull for: Biden-Steyer,” said Egister. “Joe Biden is good for one term. That’s how we see it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Honoring King
Monday’s King Day at the Dome drew roughly 2,500 people to the State House grounds for the event’s 20th anniversary. The event which started as an annual protest against the Confederate Flag, continues today as a must-stop for presidential candidates and a platform for discussing social justice issues. Here’s what some of the participants had to say:
Lenson Bellamy, Columbia
“I think he has been very inspirational, he was a man of humility, and he’s something to be proud of,” Bellamy, a teen during the civil rights movement, said of King. “There was a lot of discrimination, which I feel was uncalled for, and today I still feel like a lot of it is uncalled for.”
Brian and Heather Hawn, Columbia
Undecided voters, the Hawns said they will support the eventual Democratic nominee. Aside from solving economic inequality, fighting for environmental protections and getting rid of student loan debt, Heather Hawn said, “We need to have a sane and compassionate immigration policy for these people coming across the border. Basically undo everything that’s been done the last three years.”
Teresa Canzater, Columbia
A member of Zion Baptist Church for 40 years, Canzater has only missed three King Day at the Dome events.
“It really gives you a sense of what people went through a long time ago. With the voting rights. It makes you (realize) you have an important voice to make your presence know, to support something like,” said Canzater, who was volunteering at the event Monday. “Hopefully others will join in and vote.”
But in order to continue the movement, younger people need to understand what civil rights leaders went through, she added.
“The problem now is we’ve got to invite the younger generation. Those who know what we went through, they’re dying out now,” Canzater said. “Now we’ve got to teach the younger generation that is coming along to carry on.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 5:34 PM.
