US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign as protesters from “Black Lives Matter” interrupt her speech in Atlanta, Georgia.

Black Lives Matter activists interrupted Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton in Atlanta, Georgia as she began a speech about reforming the criminal justice system.

Clinton spoke over the shouting, saying if elected she would carry on the work on President Barack Obama. The protesters were quickly escorted away.

Also, at a dinner hosted by the NAACP civil rights group recently, she watched silently as relatives of the nine people killed in June by a white gunman during a Bible study a historic black church in Charleston took part in a memorial.

Afterward, to rounds of applause, Clinton said, “People in this room … have shown grace and resilience.” Charleston, she said, has inspired Americans who often “don’t know what to do about that kind of hate and violence stalking our land.”

Clinton said the church slayings and the April killing of Walter Scott, a black man shot by a North Charleston police officer who has since been fired and charged with murder, were part of a trend. “The last few years have shone a bright light on the systemic effects of racism and injustice,” she said.

The answers, she said, include overhauling the criminal justice system, tightening gun regulations and expanding economic and educational opportunities in communities held back by generations of institutionalized racism.

“I’m sorry they (the protesters) didn’t listen, because some of what they demanded I am offering and intend to fight for as president,” Clinton said.

The Georgia-South Carolina campaign swing, which continued Saturday in Charleston, is part of Clinton’s emphasis on Southern states that dominate the early weeks of the presidential nominating calendar.

South Carolina holds its Democratic primary Feb. 27, after Iowa and New Hampshire begin the process a few weeks earlier. Georgia is one of almost a dozen states from Virginia to Texas that follow in March.

Related articles across the web

• Usher Secretly Weds - Report
• Suniva Powers Water Treatment Plant In Florida
• 7-YR OLD SENT HOME FROM SCHOOL: For Sporting This 'Intolerant' Haircut
• What Coca-Cola Is Doing With Its Money Right Now Is Actually Kind of Genius
• The 25 coolest speakeasies in America
• CFA 2015 Game 34: Tulane at Georgia Tech, Sept. 12
• Ebola response leaves stronger health networks, experts say
• Atlanta Falcons: Surviving first four games is key for playoffs
• Georgia tracked 1,400 people exposed to Ebola
• NAACP wants to remove Jefferson County Courthouse mural