'Feel the Bern' Nashville rally won't include Bernie Sanders

News last week that the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign was bringing its “Feel the Bern” tour to Nashville’s Tennessee State University gave some the impression that Sanders himself would be visiting the college campus.

Bernie Sanders 'Feel the Bern' rally at TSU rescheduled

But that won’t be the case.

The event for the Democratic presidential candidate, scheduled for Friday night at TSU after originally being set for Thursday, is instead headlined by surrogate Shaun King, a civil rights activist and journalist who recently signed on to stump for Sanders on a campaign-sponsored tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Other speakers are to include Ledon Jones and Matt Kuhn and perhaps Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, according to an invitation for the event posted on the Tennessee for Bernie Sanders Facebook page. The panel talk is expected to touch on income equality, tuition-free public college and universities and a "racial justice platform." The invitation makes no mention of Sanders speaking himself.

On the same night as the TSU rally, Sanders is scheduled to attend a town hall meeting in Hudson, N.H., according to a campaign news release.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who has risen in recent polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire, has nonetheless struggled to gain widespread support from minority voters, including African-Americans. That presents a tough challenge against front-runner Hillary Clinton as the campaign moves past the early-voting states and into Super Tuesday on March 1, which features primaries in Tennessee and 10 other states.

In an effort to reach out to black voters, the Sanders campaign kicked off the “Feel the Bern” tour at historically black colleges and universities last week at South Carolina State University. Upon announcing the tour, though, it wasn't clear how many “Feel the Bern” events Sanders would attend.

The Sanders campaign did not return a request seeking comment.

Sanders remains the only Democratic candidate who hasn’t swung through Tennessee during the ongoing presidential campaign. Clinton came to Nashville and Memphis in November for a pair of rallies and a fundraiser. Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley has twice visited Nashville for fundraisers.

In addition to TSU, other stops on the “Feel the Bern” tour are Alabama State University in Montgomery; Jackson State University; Florida A&M University in Tallahassee; Virginia State University in Petersburg; Howard University in Washington, D.C.; the Atlanta University Center; and Benedict College in Columbia, S.C.

The Iowa Caucus, which kicks off the presidential nomination process for both parties, is on Feb. 1.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison

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