Paul said his message to the Urban League will be “the libertarian message that we must defend every individual’s rights …. that individual rights need to be protected against majoritarian rule.” He said that notion is “incredibly important if you’ve been part of any group that’s ever been persecuted in history, and that can be African American, that can be Jewish American, that can be Japanese American.

“I’ve spoken with a lot of people who are open to the message — who are conservative black leaders, conservative black businessmen and [business]women,” Paul continued. “They often say they haven’t seen anyone come to their neighborhood or make a real direct appeal to people involved from the minority community.”

Paul said he’ll give the foreign-policy speech to help “people understand where I’m coming from … that probably the most important thing that we do at the federal government level is to defend the country — and that that is a priority in my thinking, both for spending as well as for the priorities of what the federal government does.”

“I think it’s important to keep elucidating where I’m coming from on foreign policy so basically it isn’t characterized by — or mischaracterized by – enemies,” he added.