Bernie Sanders was booed and jeered by the crowd at the She The People Forum on Wednesday as he struggled to answer questions about black voters.

The 2020 presidential candidate was subjected to heckling from the fired-up crowd at Houston's Texas Southern University as he was asked about his plans to combat white-supremacist violence.

At one point host Aimee Allison asked the 77-year-old Vermont senator what he would do to protect black communities.

Scroll down for video

Sanders was heckled as he spoke at the She The People Forum in Houston, Texas on Wednesday afternoon

Bernie Sanders was asked by a woman of color in the audience what he would do about the rise of white supremacist violence as President.



Instead he started talking about minimum wage and Medicare For All.



The audience claps when the moderator clocks him.



Yikes. pic.twitter.com/alhnwyfoPP — chris evans (@notcapnamerica) April 24, 2019

'I know I date myself a little bit here, but I actually was at the March on Washington with Dr. [Martin Luther] King back in 1963,' Sanders said, launching into his familiar anecdote.

But before he could continue, loud jeers broke out among the crowd and one person shouted: 'We know!'

'As somebody who actively supported Jesse Jackson's campaign, as one of the few white elected officials to do so in '88, I have dedicated my life to the fight against racism, and sexism, and discrimination of all forms,' Sanders continued.

At one point in the discussion when Sanders appeared to dodge another question on white supremacists, host Aimee Allison drew loud applause when she reminded him that the 'core of the question' concerned violence against minorities.

The 2020 presidential candidate was subjected to heckling from the fired-up crowd at Houston's Texas Southern University as he was asked about his plans to combat white-supremacist violence (a woman in the unimpressed-looking audience records Sanders)

An audience member looks toward the stage during the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas

Sanders got a mixed response from the crowd. Some of whom clapped for him, others booed when he mentioned his well-worn anecdote about being on a march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Co-host Joy Reid then asked Sanders how he planned to win over Hillary Clinton voters, including black women in particular.

Sanders then launched a long rant about Trump and was again heckled by the crowd over his refusal to answer the question, prompting Reid to ask, 'Yeah, and for black women specifically?'

'I'm sorry', Sanders replied as the jeers grew even louder.

Reid repeated: 'For black women specifically.'

Sanders' response was then cut off as the heckles drowned out his speech: 'Black women will be an integral part of what our campaign, and what our administration is about. Okay? And that means...'

After a few seconds waiting for the crowd to quieten down Reid appeared to ask if he was finished with his point, to which he simply replied 'Yeah'.

Sanders appeared to dodge the question when asked by host Aimee Allison about his plans for tackling white supremacism

Sanders was roundly jeered after launching into a familiar anecdote about marching with Martin Luther King Jr.