Not all students in attendance were enthused by Rand Paul’s visit but he clearly made some inroads.

Julie Ershadi of the College Fix reports.

Rand Paul Makes Waves at Historically-Black Howard University

Sen. Rand Paul struggled to woo young people and minorities during his speech at the historically black Howard University on Wednesday morning. Nevertheless, a libertarian student group on the scene said many students signed up for its email list after the speech.

The Kentucky senator met with skepticism and confrontation from students in the audience. As he entreated his listeners to see that the Republican Party championed equality for blacks in the early days of abolition and emancipation, two Howard students ran to the front of the auditorium and hoisted a large white tarp with the words “Howard University does not support white supremacy” on it.

Brian Menifee, a senior mechanical engineering major at Howard and a member of the leftist campus group Political Education Action Committee, had pulled the sign from his backpack. As he and a companion were pulled away in a scuffle with campus police, Menifee could be heard saying, “Get the fuck off of me!” and “I stand up for my rights.”

Paul emphasized his view that racism and segregation are abhorrent realities of the country’s history. He also denied ever opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when confronted during the question-and-answer session about the controversy he faced in 2010 for questioning Title II of that law, which prohibits private businesses from denying customers on the basis of race.

“What gets lost is that the Republican Party has always been the party of civil rights and voting rights,” Paul said. “It is an uphill battle for me to convince you that we haven’t changed, but that’s part of me being here.”