ATERLOO, Iowa - A gospel choir belted out hymns of hope. A banner proclaimed, ''Dreams Come True, Bill.'' And Bill Bradley, who badly needs to boost his standing among black voters if he is to win the Democratic presidential nomination, last night told predominantly black crowds of voters that he would serve as a surrogate for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. if he became president.
As a prelude to a major debate on minority issues tonight with Vice President Al Gore, Bradley invoked his firsthand view of racism as an athlete and his work on civil rights as a US senator in appealing to black voters to embrace his campaign.
Bradley, the former NBA star and Olympic basketball champion, has yet to broadly connect with black voters, who typically play prominent roles in the Democratic primaries in southern battleground states from South Carolina to Texas.
''I'm trying to remain true to [King's] legacy,'' Bradley told supporters at the Waterloo Museum of Art. ''I ask myself, `What would he want a president to do at this time in our history?'''
Bradley delivered a similar message soon afterward at a dinner here honoring the slain civil rights leader. At both events, he aimed his remarks far beyond the borders of this overwhelmingly white state.
Bradley, for example, renewed his call for South Carolina to forsake the confederate design on its state flag. ''From my perspective, that flag should come down,'' he said, reiterating a position he staked on the issue last April.
Gore entered the fray Saturday by calling for the flag's removal, a stance that is widely popular among black voters who consider the confederate symbol emblematic of slavery.
Anticipating an attack from Gore, Bradley's campaign disclosed this weekend that Bradley had accepted $900 in federal subsidy payments for his farm in Missouri after voting against the program.
Bradley also missed a Senate vote on a measure to protect Iowa farmers because he was on tour promoting his autobiography, documents show. While farm matters are sure to be a concern in Iowa, Bradley stuck to the wooing black voters last night.
Surveys show Gore leads Bradley by as much as 2-1 among black voters, largely because of the Clinton administration's active support for civil rights issues.
But Bradley's camp believes the support may shift if Bradley picks up momentum in the early primaries before the contest heads South in March.
Railing against racism, Bradley stepped up his effort to bond with black voters by saying that even though he could not feel the pain of racial discrimination, he recognizes it.
''I know that must kill something in you,'' he said. ''I can never know it the way you know it, but I can see it, and I know it must end.''
