Ever since the first historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were built on U.S. soil, threats of white violence followed suit.
“HBCUs were founded in response to the nation’s desire to maintain strict separation between Blacks and whites, to keep Blacks ignorant and economically dependent,” said Lezli Baskerville, CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO). NAFEO is a membership association for all HBCUs, two and four-year alike, as well as Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs).
Lezli Baskerville, CEO of NAFEO
The recent bomb threats came in waves, starting with Howard University at the beginning of January. As recent as last week, 13 HBCUs including Albany State University, Bowie State University, Delaware State University, Southern University and A&M College received bomb threats. Bethune-Cookman University received a bomb threat later identified as hailing from the neo-Nazi terrorist group, Atomwaffen Division.
On Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, Howard University received its third bomb threat, followed by Morgan State University, Edward Waters University in Florida, and three other HBCUs.
By the second week of February, the threats continued, this time targeting Spelman College and Alcorn State University. All of the schools were forced to close while police scoured the campuses with K9 bomb-sniffing dogs. No tangible threats were discovered, and the FBI is in the process of investigating.
Throughout the long arm of history, the ebb and flow of white violence toward these institutions has always stemmed from instances of Black progress, said Dr. Joy Williamson-Lott, a professor of education foundations, leadership and policy at the University of Washington and author of Jim Crow Campus: Higher Education and the Struggle for a New Southern Social Order.
