February 28, 2016 - Flanked by pastor Bill Adkins, Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton talks to parishioners at the Greater Imani in Raleigh during a campaign stop Sunday. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Tom Charlier of The Commercial Appeal

Fresh off her resounding victory in the South Carolina primary, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton appeared at church services in Memphis on Sunday, telling two predominantly black congregations she would work to "break down every barrier" of discrimination, reform the criminal justice system, expand health care coverage and deliver greater economic opportunities.

And in an apparent shot at potential GOP general election opponent Donald Trump, who has promised to "make America great again," Clinton said, "America has never stopped being great. Our task is to make America whole."

Clinton's appearances at Greater Imani Church Cathedral of Faith in Raleigh and Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Midtown came two days before voters in Tennessee and 11 other states go to the polls for Super Tuesday primaries. In those races, she hopes to build on the momentum she received Saturday in the form of a landslide victory over Sen. Bernie Sanders in South Carolina.

The former first lady's Memphis trip wasn't announced until late Saturday, and her appearances came as surprises to the two congregations. At Greater Imani, Rev. Bill Adkins told the nearly 2,000 people at his church that he learned Thursday night Clinton would be coming, but for security reasons had to keep it secret until she arrived.

"But I guess some of you figured it out when the bomb-sniffing dog ran across the stage," he said.

In nearly identical speeches lasting about 15 minutes, Clinton focused on themes that included ending discrimination against minorities and women, dealing with the "epidemic" of gun violence afflicting African-Americans, and building on the goals of the Affordable Care Act to expand the number of people who have health insurance.

"I deeply regret that your state government has refused to extend Medicaid to working people here in this state," she said, referring to the Tennessee General Assembly's rejection of one of the components of the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

Clinton also promised a return to the economic policies of her husband Bill, under whose presidency "everybody's incomes went up," and she pledged to help ease the burden of student debt facing so many Americans.

But she reserved some of her most forceful comments for the subject of the criminal justice system, referring to several recent cases in which unarmed black people have been killed by police.

"We're going to reform the criminal justice system and make sure that it protects people, not harasses and even kills people in the process of policing," Clinton said.

At Mississippi Boulevard, where some 1,200 heard her speak, Clinton also referred to the Great Recession and the steady recovery from it. "I do not think that President Obama gets the credit he deserves" for the improved economic conditions, she said.

The economic record of "the two dynamic Democratic presidents" of the past 25 years, showed that "we know how to do this," Clinton said.

Clinton ended her second speech on a personal note, telling the crowd that as a new grandmother, with another grandchild from daughter Chelsea on the way, she is especially concerned about the future.

"Here's what I want you to know: Neither Bill nor I believe it is at all enough for our granddaughter to have every opportunity in life," she said. "It matters what kind of country she grows up in, and what kind of world is out there waiting."