Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg addressed an enthusiastic audience at a fundraiser for the Greater Indianapolis branch of the NAACP Friday night.

The South Bend mayor spoke on the widespread effects of racism and his Douglass plan, a policy guide to address systemic racism toward African Americans.

Buttigieg's speech at the 50th Freedom Fund Banquet marks the second time he's appeared before a civil rights organization in Indianapolis this year. In July, he was among the Democratic presidential candidates who spoke at the National Urban League conference.

Buttigieg has been polling near zero among African American voters, a key demographic when it comes to winning the Democratic nomination. It's a contrast from his overall support among Democratic voters as a whole, where many polls put Buttigieg in the mid-single digits.

Recently, his campaign also announced its hire of a new Indiana State Director, Arielle Brandy, who was a South Bend NAACP political action chair and former Indiana Democrats field director.

Here's what stood out from Buttigieg's keynote speech:

The audience gave him a warm reception

Before Buttigieg even came on stage, an emcee had to ask people to refrain from photos with him so he could eat.

Audience members cheered when he said that as president he would dedicate funds to historically black colleges and universities and combat voter suppression.

Buttigieg started and finished his speech to standing ovations.

"Go Pete!" shouted an audience member at the end.

He acknowledged his experience as a white person

Buttigieg's acknowledgement of the limitations of his own experiences of discrimination because of his race drew applause. In his speech, he said that he has never had to deal with being more likely to be pulled over or less likely to be called back for a job.

He also reiterated a familiar line that systemic racism needs to be discussed with majority white audiences and he's doing just that on the campaign trail.

"The very experience of whiteness is being able to afford to not always think about race," he said.

Specific policies from his Douglass Plan

Buttigieg took the opportunity to plug specific policies in his Douglass Plan to dismantle systemic racism both during his speech and in the fireside chat that followed.

"We have to tackle all of this in a systematic way," he said, adding that issues such as policing, housing, economic development and education are all interconnected.

Buttigieg touted policies aimed at tripling the number of entrepreneurs of color, directing 25% of federal purchasing toward minority-owned businesses and instituting "21st century" homestead and voting rights acts.

He addressed issues specific to the NAACP community

After Buttigieg's speech, Barbara Bolling-Williams, a member of the national NAACP board of directors, asked questions about the shooting of Eric Logan by a South Bend police officer, voting access, public education and health disparities between white and black people, and maternal mortality.

Bolling-Williams asked Buttigieg what could have been done to prevent Logan's death and what mayors and police departments across the country should do to prevent deaths like his.

In response, Buttigieg said it is important that communities have control over policing policy are involved with the civilian boards that oversee police discipline. He also emphasized that while it has been difficult, it is important that the police force reflect the communities of color that they serve.

"Each of these incidents — ones that are beyond our control and ones we do something about — add up to something that's also part of this national picture," he said. "That's why it matters who is in the White House."

For voting access, Buttigieg pointed out that Indiana is one of the only states which opens and closes its polls at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., which he said limits voting. He also criticized voter ID laws.

Contact reporter Amanda Zhou at azhou@gannett.com or 317-444-6378. You can follow her on Twitter @AmondoZhou.