Candidate electrifies crowd of more than 15,000 and vows to fight to end institutional racism, after two events in which he was upstaged by protesters

They came to “Feel the Bern” and to see how the man himself felt about being recently singed. Bernie Sanders did not disappoint.



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The Democratic presidential candidate fired up supporters at a huge rally in Los Angeles on Monday night and in the process allayed some, though not all, doubts about his relationship with the Black Lives Matter movement.

He electrified the Los Angeles sports arena with vows to take the White House and tackle billionaire oligarchs, income inequality, institutional racism and mass incarceration. “This is an economy that is rigged and meant to benefit those on top,” he thundered in a hoarse voice. “We need an economy that works for all people.”

Instead of protesters upstaging him – something that has sabotaged two previous events – the 73-year-old senator from Vermont had African American allies on stage to introduce him and reassure the Black Lives Matter movement, and others, that he may be an old white guy, but he was their old white guy.

“There’s no president that will fight harder to end institutional racism,” he promised.

The estimated 15,000 people in the stadium, and several thousand more in overflow sections outside, stomped and cheered in rapture, injecting fresh momentum into a campaign which was already surging in the wake of other big rallies and a national trade union’s endorsement.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Occupy activist Big Money Griff said the Black Lives Matter protests were not personal: ‘When Hillary does big functions, we’ll be there’ Photograph: Ted Soqui/Corbis

“Bernie Sanders is our saviour,” exulted Matthew Covalt, 20, a student, as chants of “Bernie” filled the air. “I always thought politics was vapid. I never really cared until now. Now we have hope.”

The event, an ebullient contrast to Hillary Clinton’s low-key fundraising visits to California, drew a predominantly youthful crowd seemingly confident that Sanders will defy the polls and pundits and win the Democratic nomination.

Gabriela Cid, 23, who has just finished a master’s in public administration, said this was her first ever political rally, a common refrain among those interviewed. Cid liked what the self-described democratic socialist had to say and was convinced he meant every word. “He doesn’t flip flop and that’s something that’s not very common these days.”

Yuliana Miranda, a 23-year-old teacher, brandished a Bernie poster and wore a sky-blue Bernie T-shirt. “We are forming a political revolution. Grassroots are popping up across the US and taking it to the streets.” She praised the senator’s authenticity, saying he was true to himself and truly represented the people. “He’s not beholden to corporate interests.”

For left-leaning teenagers and millennials who missed the liberal bliss that was Barack Obama in 2008, “feeling the Bern” for Sanders is playing that role, which partially accounts for the more than 100,000 people he has drawn to recent rallies.

“Bernie so bae,” said a poster carried by Faust Bordeaux, 19. “He’s so bae because he’s of the people and we love him,” she elaborated. And what was bae? “It means babe. He’s cute.” No, it meant “before anyone else”, said a friend. Bordeaux shrugged. Sanders was both.

Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) Faust Bordeaux reckons bae means cute. Or maybe before anyone else. Either way, #berniesanders bae in her book. pic.twitter.com/sAhgv2IbDe

The candidate, tie-less and with rolled up shirt-sleeves, did not name any Republican rival, nor Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, but she appeared to be among the targets when he bashed Wall Street and establishment politicians as villains in inequality, which he termed the great moral issue of our time.

“All over America people are saying loudly and clearly that this country belongs to all of us and not a handful of billionaires ... The reason we’re doing so well in this campaign is we’re telling the truth.”

He cracked no jokes, told no anecdotes, made no homespun references to “folks”. Instead, in tones ranging from indignant to outraged, the gravel voice rasped about urgent need for student debt relief, Wall Street regulation, campaign finance reform, abortion rights, paid holidays and expanded social security. The crowd loved it.

“Whenever we stand together, when we do not allow them to divide us up by the color of our skin or our sexual orientation – by whether a man or a woman is born in America or born somewhere else – whenever we stand together, there is nothing, nothing, nothing we cannot accomplish,” he said.

Before Sanders took the stage, however, some supporters had worried about Saturday’s fiasco in Seattle, when two women who said they represented Black Lives Matter seized the mic and demanded Sanders do more about police violence. It left nagging questions. Was he out of touch? Was Vermont too vanilla for a diverse nation? Would protesters again leave him mute?

Instead a young African American, Symone Sanders, appeared and introduced herself as the campaign’s newly appointed national press secretary. Another African American, Dante Harris, the leader of a local flight attendants’ union, helped warm up the crowd. “Workers’ lives matter! Black lives matter! The truth matters!”

Speaking amid a declared state of emergency in Ferguson, Missouri, where a shooting marred the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, Sanders earned loud cheers by denouncing disproportionate poverty, unemployment and incarceration rates for African Americans.

“He’s been pulled out for that and now he’s paying more attention,” said Penny Gene, 45, an African American. Malcolm Price, 60, a retired nurse, said young African Americans would warm to Sanders once they learned about his civil rights record. “The kids will come along.”

An Occupy activist who called himself Big Money Griff said the Black Lives Matter protests were not personal: Sanders drew outsized crowds and attention and so presented a good target. “When Hillary does big functions, we’ll be there.”

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Some white supporters welcomed Sanders’ tack on race. “That really jumped out. It was important,” said one man, who declined to give his name. Others, however, worried that Seattle, and a similar disruption at an event in Arizona last month, left their man looking unpresidential. “He didn’t take charge. He looked old. Can you imagine him up against Putin?” said Alfonso Cortes.

There was no way to verify Sanders’ bold claim of 27,500 people gathered inside and outside the arena, but there was no questioning the ardour of those who queued for hours to get in.

“I believe in Bernie enough to have taken the freeway,” marvelled Shelly Ehrke. “I never take the freeway.”

Russ Noel, 77, a retired aerospace machinist, cast his mind back to the last presidential primary campaign he had attended. “Robert Kennedy. Nineteen sixty-seven.”

Sheila Kadah, 63, a homemaker, dismissed any suggestion that a socialist was not electable. “Nothing is impossible. That’s what America is about – can-do. We went to the moon. And in any case, Medicaid is a socialist programme and it’s fantastic.”

Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) Audel Contreras a communist but settling for #berniesanders. 'It's America. You take the closest thing.' pic.twitter.com/TjnOsLNqbe

Audel Contreras, 26, an organiser with the National Union of Health Workers, wished Sanders would go beyond socialism. “I’m a communist. But it’s America. You take the closest thing.”

Introducing Sanders from the stage, the comedian Sarah Silverman alluded to his electability with two significant caveats. “I give you, if we’re all very smart and a little bit lucky, the next president of the United States.”

The crowd which streamed out later that night appeared even more pumped up than when it had entered. But the Berniemania contagion had limits. A few blocks down Hoover Street, in a poor neighbourhood, Latinos standing around a taco stall, eating dinner, asked if a music group had been performing. Told it was Bernie Sanders, they looked blank – none had heard of him.