a group he is trying hard to win over. i spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and the dignity. if you don t want me to be here, that s okay. reporter: after coming under fire from black lives matter activists who say he hasn t done enough for the black community. sanders rival, hillary clinton, enjoying overwhelming support in a state that could prove to be her firewall. 80% of black democratic voters say they would back clinton in south carolina. just 8% would go with sanders. but it wasn t always this case for hillary clinton in south carolina. after a bitter and racially charged 2008 primary campaign, nearly 80% of black voters in south carolina cast their ballots for barack obama. yes, we can! thank you, south carolina. i love you. reporter: the focus of tonight s first in the south forum will be on bernie sanders. we have a lot of work to do
hall, inside the hall. they re still going through that secret service sweep. but as you say, the story here in south carolina on the ground is a big lead for hillary clinton in the polls. we ve talked so much about iowa being surprisingly close. new hampshire being very close. but right now in this key early primary state, this state and african american voters in it in particular, loom for hillary clinton as her fire wall. senator bernie sanders calls for racial justice. there s no one who will fight harder, not only to end institutional racism, with you to make fundamental changes in our broken criminal justice system. reporter: a reminder of just how crucial the early primary state of south carolina is to his campaign survival. african americans made up 55% of that state s primary voters in 2008. bernie sanders! reporter: a group he is trying to win over. i spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and
campaign survival. african-americans made up 55% of that state s primary voters in 2008. bernie! hard to win over i spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and for dignity. reporter: after coming under fire from black lives matter who say he hasn t done enough for the black community. sanders rival on the other hand, enjoying overwhelming support in a state that could be her firewall. 80% of black democratic voters say they would back clinton in south carolina and just 8% would go with sanders. but it wasn t always this case for hillary clinton in south carolina. after a bitter and racially charged 2008 primary campaign nearly 80% of black voters in south carolina cast their ballots for barack obama. yes, we can!
democratic candidate martin o malley was disrupted and booed at net roots nation last weekend. shall i continue? hold on one second. it s okay with me. black lives, of course matter. i spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and for dignity. but if you don t want me to be here that s okay. hillary clinton, who skipped that event and avoided those protesters last weekend seemed to sense an opening after that. it s heartbreaking to read about another death of a young woman, sandra bland in texas, another young african-american life cut short. and that s why i thinks it essential that we all stand up and say loudly and clearly, yes, black lives matter.
hold on hold on. it s okay with me. listen i spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights but if you don t want me to be here, that s okay. no sir. we want you to be here. i don t want to outscream people. no, no. we are back with the round table. that is vermont senator bernie sanders interrupted at the conference by young african-american activists in phoenix recently. he has gained traction in the democratic presidential race against hillary clinton. a poll puts support among african-american democrats at 2%. sander and his supporters point to his work on behalf of civil rights in the 60s but they say that s the past. he is giving another speech a few hours after the earlier confrontation out in phoenix. while we have overcome a lot of racism, we have come a long