At Morehouse College, Sanders appeals to black college students

ATLANTA, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders received a warm welcome from nearly 5,000 students at Morehouse College, the latest stop on his tour of historically black universities and colleges.

After a rousing dance performance, Sanders was introduced by student political leaders, local elected officials and Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, who has been campaigning for the Vermont senator for months.

"We started in Georgia way way way down, and you know what, I think we're going to win right here," Sanders said, touting the underdog narrative of his campaign and mentioning his near-tie with Hillary Clinton in Iowa and his victory in New Hampshire.

Sanders delivered a speech that touched on his usual talking points about income inequality, mass incarceration and youth unemployment.

"I believe that we should be investing in education and jobs for our young people, not more jails or incarceration," Sanders told the crowd, promising that by the end of his first term in the White House "we will not have more people in jail than any other country."

He also discussed his bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana, which he introduced in November. "At the federal level, possessing marijuana should not be a crime," he said.

Earlier in the day, Clinton spoke at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem in New York City. Both candidates' speeches touched on institutional racism and criminal justice reform.

Hours before the event at Morehouse, Sanders came under fire from Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., who said Sanders' plans for free public college leaves students at private HBCUs "out in the cold." Richmond, a Morehouse alum himself, is supporting Clinton's presidential bid.

Warren Gunnels, Sanders' policy director, told USA Today that the candidate's plan offers help for students at private HBCUs.

"Bernie understands that too many HBCU's have struggled financially in recent years from a lack of federal resources," Gunnels said. "That's why he supports a dedicated $30 billion fund to support private non-profit HBCU's and other minority serving institutions to keep their costs down. Unlike Secretary Clinton, Bernie does not believe that we should unfairly punish HBCUs by fining them for their non-performing student loans."