Civil rights warrior John Lewis was spotted at the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Alabama, shortly after congregants at an historically black church turned their backs on Mike Bloomberg while he spoke about his racial equality policies.

Lewis, who was only 25 years old on March 7, 1965, when he led marchers across the steel-arched Edmund Pettus Bridge.

At the time, black demonstrators were beaten by white police for marching for the right to vote during the civil rights movement.

Lewis was among those injured and suffered a broken skull.

The 80-year-old, who was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December, was seen on Sunday in the back seat of a vehicle ahead of the march.

Lewis gave an impassioned plea to voters during Sunday's march, telling them: 'Fifty-five years ago, a few of our children attempted to march ... across this bridge.

'We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me here. We must go out and vote like we never, ever voted before,' he said.

'I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to give in. We're going to continue to fight. We need your prayers now more than ever before. We must use the vote as a nonviolent instrument or tool to redeem the soul of America,' he added.

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The former New York mayor then went into a speech focused on injustices faced by the black community and his policies to address racial inequality. But near the end of his speech about 10 people stood up and turned their backs on him

Civil rights warrior John Lewis was spotted at the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Alabama

Lewis was spotted just hours congregants of the Brown Chapel AME Church stood up and turned their backs on Bloomberg (pictured during the march Sunday afternoon) while he was speaking about the racial injustices faced by black people in America

Earlier on Sunday, Bloomberg received a chilly reception at the Brown Chapel AME Church after pastor Reverend Leodis Strong said in his introduction that the billionaire businessman had initially turned down the invitation to speak

Lewis was spotted just hours congregants of the Brown Chapel AME Church stood up and turned their backs on Bloomberg while he was speaking about the racial injustices faced by black people in America.

Bloomberg, who has been desperately trying to appeal to black voters after his own stop-and-frisk policing tactics, spoke at the Sunday morning service of the historically black church in Selma.

The former New York mayor received a chilly reception at the church after pastor Reverend Leodis Strong said in his introduction that the businessman had initially turned down the invitation to speak.

'I was hurt, I was disappointed,' Strong said as Bloomberg looked on stonily. 'I think it's important that he came, and it shows a willingness on his part to change.'

The billionaire took the stage and said that, after campaigning in dozens of cities, 'I have tried to listen and I have tried to learn'.

'I didn't agree with everything I heard, but I certainly gave people the opportunity to change my mind,' he added.

Bloomberg has faced sharp criticism from his opponents and some activists over his use of stop-and-frisk policing tactics while mayor, as well as his racially charged comments justifying the practice

He launched his campaign with an apology of his use of stop-and-frisk, and has released a handful of policies aimed at eliminating the racial wealth gap and reforming the criminal justice system

Bloomberg is seen sitting in a pew while waiting to be introduced at the service on Sunday

Bloomberg then went into a speech focused on his policies to address racial inequality. But near the end of his speech about 10 people stood up and turned their backs on him.

Bloomberg has faced sharp criticism from his opponents and some activists over his use of stop-and-frisk policing tactics while mayor, as well as his racially charged comments justifying the practice.

He launched his campaign with an apology of his use of stop-and-frisk, and has released a handful of policies aimed at eliminating the racial wealth gap and reforming the criminal justice system.

Bloomberg has not competed in any of the early primary states and has yet to prove his appeal among black voters. He will be on the ballot for the first time on Tuesday.

The quiet protest suggests the businessman has an uphill climb with some African-American voters, who have supported Joe Biden in large numbers and carried him to a resounding victory in South Carolina.

Bloomberg and other Democratic candidates vying for the black vote gathered at the church to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma where Alabama state troopers beat and tear-gassed hundreds of voting-rights protesters trying to march from Selma to Montgomery, the capital, on March 7, 1965.

The quiet protest suggests the businessman has an uphill climb with some African-American voters, who have supported Joe Biden (pictured on Sunday) in large numbers and carried him to a resounding victory in South Carolina

Biden was welcomed at the Brown Chapel AME Church with open arms on Sunday. He's seen hugging Rep Terri Sewell

Biden and his daughter Ashley are seeing laying a wreath during a remembrance service at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Sunday

Biden and his daughter Ashley place their hands over their hearts after laying a wreath during a remembrance service at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Sunday

The confrontation both set the stage for the massive Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march led by Rev Martin Luther King Jr weeks later and helped inspire passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year.

Located about 50 miles west of Montgomery, Selma has deep ties to both civil rights and the Civil War.

Aside from being the site of Bloody Sunday, the Edmund Pettus Bridge is named for a Confederate general and US senator who advocated for white supremacy.

Sen Elizabeth Warren, Sen Amy Klobuchar and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg joined the marchers for a re-enactment of the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Tom Steyer also attended despite suspending his campaign after a poor showing in South Carolina.

The years since have been tough on Selma, where shuttered businesses and vacant, dilapidated homes stand just blocks from magnificent antebellum mansions.

The city and surrounding Dallas County typically have some of the highest jobless rates in the state.

Sen Elizabeth Warren (pictured) was seen preparing to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with hundreds of marchcers

Stacy Abrams (second from left) walks on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Sunday

Members of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club gather near the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Sunday

Marchers prepare to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on Sunday

Alabama state troopers beat and tear-gassed hundreds of voting-rights protesters trying to march from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965. Lewis, who was only 25 at the time led the marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge (pictured) and was among the injured

The town's population is steadily declining, and Census statistics show 41 per cent of the estimated 17,800 people who remain live in poverty.

About 82 per cent of the town's residents are black, and both schools and neighborhoods are mostly segregated by race with blacks attending public schools and whites attending private academies.

Bloody Sunday: The march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 Despite the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, the legislation had done little in some parts of Alabama to ensure African Americans had the basic right to vote. At that time, black people accounted for just 2 per cent of registered voters despite them making up more the half of the population in Dallas County. Efforts to register black voters by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had been consistently thwarted. Peaceful protests resulted in the arrests of thousands of black people. Those arrests led to more deadly encounters with police, including the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, 26, who was killed on February 18, 1965, by white troopers. Jackson, who was protesting at the time, was trying to protect his mother from being struck by police when he was shot and killed. His death prompted civil rights leaders to take their cause directly to Alabama Gov George Wallace along a 54-mile stretch from Selma to Montgomery, the state's capital. On March 7, 1965, Rep John Lewis led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Approximately 600 voting rights advocates had set out from the Brown Chapel AME Church. But Wallace had ordered state troopers to do whatever necessary to prevent the march. Marchers were brutally attacked by the troopers who knocked them to the ground, struck them with sticks and sprayed tear gas on them. Although forced back, the demonstration did not fight back. Advertisement

Crime, much of it linked to gangs, is a constant problem, authorities say.

Selma Mayor Darrio Melton endorsed Biden as someone who could help.

'Joe understands the issues families in Selma and communities across the country face,' he said.

Black voters lifted Biden to his first primary victory in South Carolina.

The former vice president also spoke during the morning worship at Brown Chapel AME Church on Sunday.

Bloomberg and Biden split the endorsements of leading black political groups in Alabama, one of 14 states voting on Super Tuesday.

Biden added to a growing number of endorsements from establishment Democrats, including US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a former Democratic National Committee chairwoman.

Rep Terri Sewell, the lone black member of Alabama's congressional delegation, urged hundreds of people attending a community breakfast to vote for Biden and enable 'a return to civility'.

'Joe Biden not only knows me, he knows you,' she said.

Bernie Sanders leads in the overall national delegate count with 56 and Biden is second with 51, with another seven South Carolina delegates yet to be allocated.

A candidate needs at least 1,991 delegates to win the nomination outright at the party's convention in July.

The Sanders campaign announced overnight it had raised $46.5million from more than 2.2 million donations in February, a huge sum dwarfing what any other Democratic candidate had raised last year in any three-month period.

Biden's campaign reported his February haul was $18million. Sen Elizabeth Warren's campaign said she raised more than $29million in February.

Bloomberg, meanwhile, continues to spend. He purchased three minutes of commercial air time on broadcast networks CBS and NBC on Sunday evening to address the coronavirus outbreak.