A growing number of historically black colleges and universities were forced to lockdown and postpone classes on Tuesday after receiving bomb threats, police said.
At least 14 HBCUs reported bomb threats on the first day of Black History Month. However, Howard University in Washington, D.C., received a bomb threat on Monday at around 4:30 a.m., according to a security alert sent from the university, The Hill reported.
According to CNN, the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the “scene has been cleared with no hazardous materials found.”
“We’ve had these challenges before,” Howard University President Wayne Frederick said Tuesday. But “since I’ve been here (as a student) in 1988, it has not been this widespread and also, I think, this overt.”
On Tuesday, US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called the bomb threats “disturbing” and affirmed they would not be tolerated.
“My team will continue to work with students, faculty, and alumni to make sure HBCUs continue to be a safe place for students to learn,” Cardona tweeted.
Our Historically Black Colleges & Universities have again been targets of disturbing threats. My team will continue to work with students, faculty, and alumni to make sure HBCUs continue to be a safe place for students to learn. Threats of violence will not be tolerated, period.
— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) February 1, 2022
Here is the following list of universities that received bomb threats on Tuesday.
- Coppin State University – Baltimore, Md.
- Jackson State University – Jackson, Miss.
- Mississippi Valley State University – Itta Bena, Miss.
- Morgan State University – Baltimore, Md.
- Alcorn State University – Alcorn, Miss.
- Tougaloo College – Jackson, Miss.
- Kentucky State University – Frankfort, Ky.
- Fort Valley State University – Fort Valley, Ga.
- Howard University – Washington, D.C.
- Spelman College – Atlanta, Ga.
- Xavier University – New Orleans, La.
- University of the District of Columbia – Washington, D.C.
- Edward Waters University – Jacksonville, Fla.
- Rust College – Holly Springs, Miss.
“Many of our students in the HBCUs, they are first-generation college students. And they are there to advance their education and to create opportunity — not only for themselves but for their families,” said Sabrina Taylor, an assistant professor at Coppin State University.
Calvert White, a 22-year-old studying social science and education At Jackson State, lives only 10 minutes away from the institution in an off-campus apartment. He expressed his thoughts on the bomb threats and what it means for black men and women to attend historically black colleges and universities.
“I’m uneasy,” White said. “HBCUs have a long history of physical threats just because of our existence. I think that the threats aren’t individual or coincidental — that it’s a clear attack on Black students who choose to go to Black schools.”
Morgan State professor Jason Johnson addressed the incident at the start of Black History Month, “Over half a dozen HBCUs have received these threats in the last few weeks. Not exactly how you want #Blackhistorymonth2022 to begin,” Johnson tweeted Tuesday.
My campus @MorganStateU is the latest HBCU to face a bomb threat. Over half a dozen HBCUs have received these threats in the last few weeks. Not exactly how you want #Blackhistorymonth2022 to begin pic.twitter.com/kh19iKpVN3
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) February 1, 2022
Saigan Boyd, a 19-year-old Spelman student, said she was notified of the bomb threat at around 5:30 a.m. in an email. “It was very disturbing … It made me feel as though that I am not safe,” she said.
“It makes me realize how there are still these terrorists that are trying to stop minorities from advancing or just getting a simple education from a predominantly Black institution,” Boyd exclaimed.
There are no pending arrests for the HBCU bomb threats at this time.
