Ms. Salem said she saw him as authentic, contrasting him and Ms. Warren to several of the other candidates, who she said seemed to be reading from a playbook on “how to speak on issues that are important to women of color.” But after an enthusiastic greeting, Mr. Sanders seemed to lose the crowd somewhat. He did not discuss many policy details, and when asked what he would do for women of color as president, he talked instead about helping marginalized groups in general.

“For a lot of women of color, the challenge is we’ve heard that before,” Ms. Allison said. “If you don’t specifically call out those who are most marginalized, often we’re forgotten.”

Several candidates were asked about criminal justice and the so-called “war on drugs,” which has disproportionately affected people of color. Ms. Harris, a former prosecutor, focused on this issue in particular, calling for the legalization of marijuana and saying laws against it had “contributed to the problem of mass incarceration in our country and led disproportionately to the criminalization of young black and brown men in this country.”

Ms. Klobuchar, also a former prosecutor, was asked about a different element of law enforcement: police killings of black people. After saying that she had supported the prosecution of the officer who killed Philando Castile in Minnesota, her home state, she called for more funding for police training; said police departments and grand juries should “reflect the communities that we serve”; and argued that police departments should not be able to run the investigations of their own officers.

Ms. Allison praised that answer, but added that Ms. Klobuchar had seemed “unprepared” for one question that every candidate was asked: With so many candidates to choose from, why should women of color choose you?