On Monday morning, January 31, more than a half dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) responded to bomb threats, with many locking down their campuses for a time. Investigations are being carried out by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The seven colleges and universities were Albany State University, Southern University, A&M College, Bowie State University, Howard University, Bethune-Cookman University, and Delaware State University. 

Albany State University, in Georgia, released a social media statement notifying students and faculty of a bomb threat to the university’s academic buildings.

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, school officials at Southern University and A&M College instructed students to shelter in place in their dorms Monday morning. Later that day, an all-clear was given after a search for suspicious activity found nothing.  

Bowie State University, in Maryland, conducted building sweeps with explosive-detecting dogs and bomb technicians. After local, state, and federal law officers found no explosives, the campus re-opened later that day. 

Howard University received a bomb threat before dawn on Monday morning, but, according to radio station WTOP, the university later reported an “all-clear” to students and staff, finding no evidence of real danger. 

Classes were cancelled at the Bethune-Cookman campus and school grounds were monitored by Daytona Beach police all day Monday, even after police determined the threat was non-substantial. 

Delaware State University spokesperson Carlos Holmes told the press a bomb threat was made to campus early Monday morning, but released no further information.

President Biden and the White House are aware of these bomb threats. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, federal law enforcement is leading investigation efforts. US education secretary Miguel Cardona said in a tweet Tuesday that “threats of violence will not be tolerated,” and is committed to making sure “HBCUs continue to be a safe place for students to learn.” 

On Tuesday, at least 14 more HBCUs, across the US, received bomb threats. Students and faculty at HBCUs have reacted with fear, sadness, and ultimate defiance in the face of these threats. 

Howard University President Wayne Frederick told CNN, “we’ve had these challenges before, but since I’ve been here (as a student) in 1988, it has not been this widespread and also, I think, this overt.” 

Saigan Boyd, a student from Spelman University, called the bomb threats “disturbing,” and said they made her feel unsafe. She says she is “tired of dealing with this level of unsolicited hatred… I’m just tired of being terrorized like how my grandparents were.”

Sabrina Taylor, undergraduate program director and professor at Coppin State University, says the bomb threats deeply saddened her. “Many of our students… are first-generation college students. And they are there to advance their education and create opportunity… now they have to deal with bomb threats.” Taylor reached out to her students to check that they felt safe and supported, wanting to encourage their empowerment: “They are on their path to greatness, and they cannot let individuals who their [sic] intention is to cause destruction, chaos and fear and doubt, stop them from walking and their purpose.” 

Calvert White, a junior at Jackson State University, also pointed out the inspiring role of HBCUs, noting that they “aren’t just looked at as a beacon of the past, but a marker of the future.” 

These occurrences are disturbing and frightening, especially amidst the heightened racial tensions of the past few years. What more, the seemingly purposeful timing of the bomb threats, at the start of Black History Month, exacerbates the severity of the attack on Black education and empowerment. Now is a time to celebrate Black Americans–– their accomplishments, their history, and their identity–– and this month should not be marked by fear. Hingham High Senior Amy Maffei feels that the bomb threats are “sad and unfortunate,” recognizing the unfairness that Black students have to “deal with this fear, especially in a place they are simply trying to gain an education from.” She adds that “there is definitely something to be said that there was a similar threat to some HBCUs at the beginning of January.” We have seen a recent uptick in hostilities towards HBCUs over the past few months, but ever since their founding, HBCUs have been a constant target of racial backlash. 

Junior Whitley Thompson put it best when she offered her opinion on the “devastating” racism of these attacks: “taking away one’s liberty to feel safe in their education is unjust, and the targeting of these threats at historically black colleges reveals the racism that continues to run rampant throughout the country. Targeting people of color and prohibiting people of color from feeling safe in their everyday routine is a problem that needs to be addressed at the forefront of our society.”