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Washington

Hours before the聽Southern Poverty Law Center held聽a聽virtual panel Tuesday about recent bomb threats made to dozens of historically Black colleges, yet another bomb threat was reported 鈥� this one to聽Spelman College,聽a historically Black institution in Georgia.

鈥淭his was a racist attack that aims to not only disrupt the start of Black History Month, but the perpetrators, we believe, wanted to send a message that even learning while Black is not safe from hate,鈥� said Lecia Brooks, the chief of staff and culture for the SPLC. None of the threats came to HBCUs in Virginia, according to news reports.

鈥淭hey clearly underestimated the strength of our treasured centers of learning, whose very existence is rooted in resilience.鈥�

Leaders from five historically Black colleges and universities and an official with the U.S. Department of Education discussed how coordination between the institutions and the federal government could help protect students, faculty and the communities around those campuses. Nearly 20 HBCUs received bomb threats in the past weeks, with more than a dozen on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month.

The FBI is聽聽the bomb threats made to HBCU institutions as hate crimes.

Michelle Asha Cooper, the acting assistant secretary for postsecondary education at the U.S. Department of Education, said that the department was working with the Justice Department, FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate the threats.

鈥淭hese threats are reminiscent of the civil rights era,鈥� she said. 鈥淏omb threats against Black people is an unfortunate part of America鈥檚 history.鈥�

Multiple media outlets have聽聽that the FBI has identified six juveniles of interest in the calls made to HBCUs.

Zachary Faison Jr., the president of Edward Waters University in Florida, said that he was concerned to learn that the threats could stem from young people, and added that he鈥檚 worried that children are not properly being taught about the history of racism in America.

鈥淲hen I thought about young people, I鈥檓 thinking about people that don鈥檛 really understand or appreciate the historicity and the pains to African Americans in this country, particularly historically Black colleges and universities,鈥� he said.

Brooks agreed and said that 鈥渨e are seeing this more and more from our elected officials at the highest level, and those responses from our elected officials are having an impact on young people.鈥�

Republicans at the state and congressional level have introduced or passed legislation to ban the teachings of critical race theory, an academic subject in higher education that has been around since the 1970s that looks at how race and law intersect. It鈥檚 not a subject taught in public schools.

Felecia Nave, the president of Alcorn State University in Mississippi, said that following the threats, her priority was students鈥� well-being.

鈥淚鈥檓 extremely saddened for our students who continue to be traumatized, in what is truly unprecedented times,鈥� she said.

Nave said that when she talked to students, she also talked to them about solutions and how they can help their community.

鈥淭hey are disappointed, they are traumatized,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e resilient, and they are resolved to continue to move forward and to make it known that we won鈥檛 be threatened.鈥�

She said they talked about voting rights and how it鈥檚 a constant struggle to fight for the right to vote and how important it is to educate people in their community about when certain legislation comes up, such as critical race theory.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e being that next generation of civil rights leaders that our community is gonna need,鈥� she said.

Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University in Louisiana, said that while his university has not yet received a bomb threat, the institution is no stranger to racist threats.

鈥淚 think that this has been a wake-up call for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 lean into the history and deal with those issues and then say, how do we learn from that and apply it in this new context?鈥�

Those institutions that received bomb threats include:

• Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.
• Bethune-Cookman University and聽Edward Waters University in Florida
• Albany State University,聽Fort Valley State University and Spelman College in Georgia
• Southern University and A&M College and聽Xavier University in Louisiana
• Bowie State University and聽Coppin State University in Maryland
• Philander Smith College in Arkansas
• Delaware State University in Delaware
• Kentucky State University聽 in Kentucky
• Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University and Tougaloo College in Mississippi

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