On Wednesday, Mrs. Clinton, still battling her way through a primary against Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, will make a more high-profile connection with Mr. Sharpton, appearing at his National Action Network convention in Manhattan.
Mrs. Clinton has relied heavily on black voters to bolster her against Mr. Sanders in several nominating contests. And while she has known Mr. Sharpton for years, the firebrand reverend and MSNBC host is more closely aligned with President Obama than with the Clintons.
The visit always made sense as a practical matter. But it has taken on new contours as Mrs. Clinton tries to brush back social media-stirred outrage about a racially charged joke that Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York made in a skit that she appeared in at an event on Saturday.