History was made on the Paul Quinn College campus Monday when former U.S. President Bill Clinton addressed students at the historically black college in south Oak Cliff.
It was one of two stops Clinton made in Texas Monday, campaigning for Hillary Clinton. He talked about how Hillary Clinton had success working with Republicans to get legislation passed.
The former president stressed the importance of equal pay and equal employment opportunities.
He also talked about the need for universal background checks, adding that he had a .22 caliber gun when he was 10 years old and shot cans off a fence post.
"I was governor of a state where we had to close school on the first day of deer season, because nobody is going to show up anyway. I get this, but I also passed universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons," he said, adding, "It is not too much to ask all of our citizens there ought to be universal background checks."
Bill Clinton spoke for more than 30 minutes to a packed room, and he took a few shots at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, without using his name.
"I noticed one of the their presidential candidates on the other side said he wanted to be president, so he could 'make America great again.' Well, let me tell you something. You listen to the stories of the immigrants that are here, and what they have made of their lives, America never stopped being great. We just need to make America whole again," the former president said.
He added later, "One of them wants to build a wall. Hillary says, 'I want to build ladders of opportunities and tear down barriers so we can all be whole again.'"
Historic Visit By Former U.S. President
Monday's visit was the first time in the school's 144-year history that a president has come to visit Paul Quinn College.
"No matter who you are, no matter your political affiliation, you have to understand the magnitude of having one of the United States' presidents visit your institution," Paul Quinn President Michael Sorrell said.
Sorrell still cannot believe the text message he received from State Senator Royce West, D-Dallas, asking if the campus would be interested in hosting the event.
"It said, 'Hey, would you guys be interested in hosting a rally and having President Clinton come visit?'" Sorrell said.
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After realizing it was not a trick question Sorrell began working to make the visit a reality. He said the visit goes beyond the politics of the moment.
"We look at a visit by President Clinton as confirmation that we have put ourselves in the national discussion because of the quality of our ideas and what we've accomplished," Sorrell said.
By Monday morning, preparations were in full swing.
Students were moved to the college library for meals and other activities in order to ready the student union for Clinton's arrival.
"I instantly called my mom like, 'Hey, I'm going to be helping out when Bill Clinton gets here!'" said sophomore, Elexis Evans.
She and a classmate were selected to assist with crowd control and media on Monday night.
They spent the day watching Hillary Clinton staffers setup the stage and chatted with crews about the speech scheduled for the night.
"President Clinton could've went anywhere else. You know, there are plenty of colleges right down the street here. And to come to Paul Quinn College just shows the dedication to support minorities, under-served communities," said student, Kevin Lee.
Lines began forming shortly after 2 p.m., wrapping around the student union by the time doors opened at 4:30 p.m. Both Evans and Lee were lucky enough to get a spot inside to hear Clinton's speech.
"It really matters that they care enough to come out and speak to us and say, 'Hey, we want you, we want to see your faces, we want to see exactly who you represent,'" said Evans.
Lee said he hoped to get a couple minutes with Clinton. President of the sophomore class, he explained he, too, has ambitions of getting to the White House.
"I'm going to kick it with President Clinton," joked Lee. "That's the plan. I'm thankful."
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are locked in a tight race. Both candidates are trying to woo minority voters, but students view Clinton's visit as more than a campaign stop.
"It's a great way for him to show our younger students the opportunity they can have after they graduate," said sophomore Ryan Abrams. "He'll be able to give some knowledge and speak on some things our students aren't aware of."
NBC 5's Caroline Connolly and Julie Fine contributed to this report.
