Visiting a black church bombed by the Ku Klux Klan during the civil rights era, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden framed current racial tensions as part of an enduring struggle that is older than the nation. “In a centuries long campaign of violence, fear, trauma, brought upon black people in this country, the domestic terrorism of white supremacy has been the antagonist of our highest ideals since before the founding of this country,” Biden told the 16th Street Baptist Church congregation in downtown Birmingham on Sunday as they commemorated the 56th anniversary of the bombing that killed four black girls in 1963. Biden’s appearance comes at an inflection point for Democrats’ 2020 leader in the polls.
