CHICAGO — Pete Buttigieg stood on Tuesday before an audience of African-Americans, a group that has been largely indifferent to his presidential aspirations, and promised to enact policies that would begin to undo racist and discriminatory practices historically aimed at them.

“If we do not tackle the problem of racial inequality in my lifetime, I am convinced that it will upend the American project in my lifetime,” said Mr. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind. “It brought our country to its knees once and if we do not act, it could again.”

If elected president, Mr. Buttigieg said, he would work to improve police training, create a federal fund for investment in minority-owned businesses, abolish private federal prisons and ban incarceration for simple drug possession. He would address voting rights by instituting automatic voter registration, expanding early voting and making Election Day a national holiday, he said.

Mr. Buttigieg, 37, appeared in Chicago at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s annual convention, a traditional stop on the campaign trail for Democrats running for president. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Buttigieg huddled privately with the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the civil rights leader and the organization’s founder, in a hotel conference room for more than 20 minutes. He mingled with conference attendees at Mr. Jackson’s side, ducked behind a black curtain backstage for a one-on-one chat and joined him for a breakfast of eggs and orange juice before the speech.