This Black History Month, HBCUs have been experiencing incessant attacks. Throughout Febuarary, HBCU’s classes and university operations have been derailed by bomb threats, including schools in the DMV like Howard and UDC. On the first day of Black History Month, at least 14 historically Black colleges and universities received threats.
As recently as, February 14, Howard received a bomb threat that required a shelter-in-place order. While nothing was found on campus, this was one of at least four threats Howard has endured in the last two months. While such challenges and violence is nothing new for Howard and other HBCUs, the Howard president notes that “since I’ve been here (as a student) in 1988, it has not been this widespread and also, I think, this overt.”
Other institutions that have been under attack this month include Coppin State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Morgan State University, Spelman College, University of the District of Columbia, and more.
All of these universities and have received bomb threats that put a halt to the normal operation of classes. February should be a celebration of these institutions and students, but is instead overshadowed by fear and uneasiness.
The students
Saigan Boyd, a 19 year old student at Spelman College told CNN that she is “ultimately just tired of dealing with this level of unsolicited hatred. I’m just tired of being terrorized like my grandparents were.” While these threats are disturbing and unsettling, unfortunately many students are accustomed to these experiences and feel more “disappointed and annoyed than anxious.”
While thankfully, no attacks have been carried out at any of these universities so far, this influx of threats this month should prompt reflection of what progress in racial justice has been made in recent years, if any. The implications of these attacks on institutions that have traditionally been a place of refuge for Black students is not to be ignored. These threats may endanger the asylum that these HBCUs have historically provided, making clear that these attacks are not random acts of hatred and violence.
The importance of HBCUs
The creation and operation of HBCUs alone is an act of resistance, one that has provided sanctuary for Black Americans for generations. HBCUs play an essential role in providing a safe space for POC to pursue an education. HBCUs only make up 3% of U.S colleges but almost 20% of all African American graduates attended a HBCU. Because of the significant numbers of Black professionals in medicine, education, technology, and law that graduate from HBCUs, including high profile graduates such as Stacey Abrams and Vice President Harris, the visibility of HBCUs has increased significantly in recent years.
This increase in visibility, while it can bring attention to issues like the chronic underfunding of HBCUs, makes these institutions more vulnerable as targets. These hoax threats not only take a toll on the health and safety of the community at these institutions, but are a financial burden in the increased necessity of surveillance.
There is more to be done
This disturbing phenomenon begs the question of what progress, if any, has been made in recent years. Despite the spike in support for the Black Lives Matter movement in May 2020 following George Floyd’s murder, racism remains alive and well in our country. No concrete progress has been made, and Black Americans’ safety and right to live their lives are still constantly under attack. Now, events of recent weeks demonstrate an increased willingness to attack institutions that provide refuge and resources for Black and Brown Americans.
These attacks are not random acts of violence. They are intentional, insidious acts of racism. In a time where “activism” is popularized as social currency and spaces are flooded with performative activism, it is important to remember the continued reality of racism in our country. With just as much work to be done as there was in May 2020, complacency is deadly.