WASHINGTON — The commemoration of Martin Luther King’s Birthday on Monday became a day of confession, invective and promise for prominent Democrats, who used events across the country honoring the slain civil rights leader to try to inoculate themselves from criticism, lash out at President Donald Trump as a racist and, in one case, begin a history-making run for the White House.

From the nation’s capital to the South Carolina Statehouse to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s storefront headquarters in Harlem, the gatherings were solemn, spirited and reflected the fraught nature of what would have been the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 90th year.

They also reflected the political imperative of reaching out to black voters who are a crucial part of the Democratic coalition and are increasingly demanding accountability on race from their own leaders.

Taking the podium at a breakfast in Washington, former Vice President Joe Biden, who was first elected to public office the year after King’s assassination, acknowledged that more was expected of him at this moment.

Biden said he regretted supporting the tough-on-crime drug legislation of the 1980s and 1990s, expressing remorse in particular over a bill that created different legal standards for powdered cocaine and street crack cocaine.

“It was a big mistake that was made,” Biden said of the measure, which was criticized as disproportionately affecting black Americans. “We were told by the experts that ‘crack, you never go back,’ that the two were somehow fundamentally different. It’s not. But it’s trapped an entire generation.”

The King Day celebration began on a note of hope and history when Sen. Kamala Harris of California declared her presidential candidacy.

“We know that we’ve not yet reached those ideals, but our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals,” Harris said of King’s aspirations.

The daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, Harris is perhaps the most formidable black woman to ever seek the presidency.

Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, made a surprise appearance at the monument to King in Washington. The president laid a wreath at the memorial but only stayed briefly and said nothing about the man being honored.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.