CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, during a pair of Saturday afternoon campaign stops, once again brought his liberal brand of economic populism to Cleveland.

Sanders first stopped by his recently-opened Euclid Avenue campaign headquarters near Cleveland State University's campus, where he accepted an endorsement from a union representing federal Social Security workers.

He then traveled to the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood to participate in town hall meeting geared toward issues affecting African-Americans that was organized by a coalition of religious leaders, activists and others. The church next Saturday will also will host former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sanders' opponent in the Democratic primary, according to the Rev. Jawanza Colvin, the church's senior pastor.

During a 30-minute speech at the East Side church, Sanders stuck to his bread-and-butter issues of railing against Wall Street and economic inequality. He called for the federal government to provide universal healthcare, and for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

"Instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires and spending more than we should on our military, maybe we should invest in our children," Sanders said

But he tailored his message to the predominantly black audience, highlighting his background in the 1960s as a political activist, which included staging sit-ins againstat the University of Chicago's segregated-housing policy.

Sanders fielded questions from the audience about topics including the recent lead-poisoning crisis in Flint, Mich., and high rates of incarceration, particularly of black Americans, and recent high-profile fatal police shootings of unarmed people by police.

In response to a question from Latonya Goldsby, a cousin of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by police in late 2014, Sanders called for a mandatory federal investigation in response to any fatal police shooting.

Among those who accompanied Sanders to the church were former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner and Cornel West, the left-wing academic.

Earlier at his campaign headquarters, Sanders accepted an endorsement from a union representing federal Social Security workers.

Sanders spoke about a need to strengthen the federal retirement program. He also contrasted himself with Clinton on trade issues, saying he has voted against international free-trade agreements because they hurt American workers.

"The result is the loss of millions of decent paying jobs and a race to the bottom," he said.

He also addressed the tone of the Republican primary, led by bombastic businessman Donald Trump.

"What we are seeing in the Republican presidential process is like a sixth-grade food fight. And I would hope that most sixth-graders understand that we don't behave like that," Sanders said.

Local labor leader Harriet Applegate introduced Sanders at the event, attended by about 100 union members and other supporters.

"Bernie is authentic. He is consistent. He is strong and courageous. And these are qualities we need in a president," said Applegate, who is the executive secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO Federal of Labor, but who was not appearing in that capacity Saturday.

Ohio's presidential primary election will take place on March 15. Sanders last appeared in Greater Cleveland on Feb. 25, when he traveled to Baldwin Wallace University.

A Feb. 23 poll by Quinnipiac University of Ohio voters showed Sanders trailing Clinton, the race's frontrunner, by 15 points. Among black Ohio voters, Clinton led Sanders 71 percent to 26 percent, the poll found. That echoes a larger trend: during early primary contests, Sanders has struggled in states with larger numbers of minority voters.

Jason Allen and Ashley Johnson, a Euclid couple, brought their two-year-old son to see Sanders speak at Olivet. They said seeing Sanders speak reaffirmed their support of him.

"It was a pleasant surprise, because he came off as genuine as he does in his [online] videos," Allen said. "Like he cares about working-class people."

Johnson said she thinks black voters are just more familiar with Clinton, the former First Lady, because of her husband's White House tenure.

"I think our community needs to look at this. Do we need a cool president and his wife, or do we need someone who has been with us?" she said.