Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought a populist message to Cleveland Saturday, telling a crowd her administration would focus on the issues that most hit America's poor and middle class and breaking down barriers that stand in their way.
The Democratic candidate for president praised President Barack Obama and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as effective leaders who lifted up the country, and pledged to follow their examples.
"I'm not embarrassed to tell you I am going to take lessons from President Obama and President Clinton," she told a packed house at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church.
The event was organized by A Community Coalition Concerned for Black Life. Last week the group held a similar event to hear Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Clinton talked up plans to improve education and address racism and crime in America and the need to get people to work together to solve problems.
And she took aim at the Republican front-runner, billionaire Donald Trump, for preaching a divisive message.
Here are some takeaways from her remarks.
Standing up to a bully
Clinton didn't mince words about Trump, describing him as a bully whose messages are laced with bigotry.
It is no surprise, she said, that there have been reports of violence at his events. And she blamed him for creating the climate that prompted cancellation of a rally in Chicago on Friday.
"The ugly divisive rhetoric and the encouragement of violence and aggression is not only wrong, but it's dangerous," she told the crowd in Cleveland. "If you play with matches, you could start a fire that you cannot control.
"That is not leadership, that's political arson," she said.
Breaking down barriers
Clinton contrasted her approach, one she said would work to break down barriers -- to education, to better jobs and equal pay -- and policies that will address issues of racism.
"I believe America is strong when we are all strong," she said.
"I believe that all of us have to recognize all of the intense feelings that are at work in our country today," she said. Working together requires that people show each other "love, kindness and respect" and "trust and respect each other despite our differences."
Criminal justice reform
Clinton called for changes to a system she described as one that unfairly affects people of color.
"Something is very wrong when black kids get arrested for petty crimes but white kids get off when they do the same thing," she said.
Violent crime, too, must be addressed, she said. That should start with expanding background checks on gun purchases and closing loopholes to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands.
"There is something profoundly disturbing that on average 90 people die every day to gun violence."
Joining Clinton at the rally were several mothers who lost children either at the hands of police or by gun violence. Among them were Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland; and Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner.
Clinton called for efforts to improve police-community relations and more training for officers to try to prevent tragedy.
She specifically raised the Tamir Rice case, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed by police in Cleveland. "He should be alive today," she said. "He should be healthy and happy."
Improving education
Reforming education means addressing issues both inside and outside of the classroom, Clinton said.
She proposed boosting federal funding to help even out resource imbalances from school district to school district. "Every child deserves a good teacher in a good school regardless of the ZIP code they live in," she said.
She cited lead exposure as an outside issue that needs to be addressed. The Flint water crisis has captured national attention for exposing children to lead. But in Cleveland and other cities across the country, children continue to be exposed to lead in the paint in their homes.
"If I am fortunate enough to be in the White House, I will focus on every single reason that children can succeed in school, and this is one of them."
While Flint's crisis gets national headlines, Cleveland's problems are much worse
Easing immigration laws
Clinton said immigration reform should contain a path to citizenship and she called for an easing of deportation policies.
She made her statements in response to a question from Elizabeth Perez, a former U.S. Marine who now is the projects director for Hola Ohio, a grassroots organization that advocates for Latinos.
Perez' husband was deported in 2010 after a traffic stop led to the discovery that he was in the United States illegally. She has remained in this country with their children, but has been unable to gain permission for him to return.
Clinton said violent criminals and other bad actors should be deported, but that the government should seek to keep families together.
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