On the first day of a month that is meant to celebrate the history of Black excellence, unknown entities are threatening to destroy it.
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According to CNN, 13 HBCUs have reported bomb threats on Tuesday. Howard University also received a bomb threat just the previous day.
Other than Howard, the twelve other universities and colleges that reported threats, included Coppin State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Alcorn State University, Tougaloo College, Morgan State University, Jackson State University, Kentucky State University, Fort Valley State University, Xavier University, University of the District of Columbia, Spelman College and Edward Waters University.
For the second day in a row, Howard University received a bomb threat. The school tweeted that campus police have given the “all-clear” and that students no longer have to shelter in place.
At Coppin State, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN that someone called the Baltimore University and said there was a bomb on campus. It was investigated by campus police and no evidence of a bomb was found. The university tweeted that they received an “all-clear” status and that in-person classes will resume.
Mississippi Valley State University announced on Twitter that the campus has been cleared by University police along with local police, but classes will remain virtual.
Alcorn State University, an institution in Mississippi, received a bomb threat this morning. Due to the threat, they tweeted that “There will be no in-person student activities and all classes will continue by virtual instruction.” Only emergency services will be working on campus.
Tougaloo College, a tiny private university in Mississippi, stated, “Due to today’s bomb threat, the campus will operate virtually (February 1st). Although the campus has been cleared, for safety precautions, there will be no in-person classes/activities, and employees and students should not commute to the campus.”
Morgan State University, a research university in Baltimore, tweeted a campus alert saying, “Following a thorough and exhaustive sweep of the campus and its buildings, including all residential facilities on and off-site, no suspicious items were discovered, and nothing has been deemed as being out of place.” As a result, the shelter-in-place order has been lifted and people can be on campus.
Jackson State University tweeted that they received a bomb threat early in the morning. But, local police swept the campus and found no evidence of there being a bomb on campus. As a result, the campus was cleared and the campus is open.
In a statement from Kentucky State University, they said, “Law enforcement officials have completed an investigation of the bomb threat that Kentucky State University received earlier this morning. University Police, local and state law enforcement agencies searched all campus facilities and have issued an all-clear. The shelter-in-place is lifted and it is now safe to return to campus.”
Fort Valley State University, a school in Georgia, alerted that campus police have completed their investigation of the bomb threat and local and state police have issued an all-clear and students can return to campus.
Xavier University of Louisiana tweeted that local law enforcement is investigating the threat. They have cleared campus and classes will continue on campus this afternoon.
According to WJLA, the University of DC received a bomb threat this morning. The university tweeted that campus and local police issued an “all clear.” The campus is now open.
Spelman College, the only institution in the Atlanta University Center Consortium to receive a threat today, received a bomb threat overnight according to WGCL. Atlanta police initially investigated the threat but eventually turned the case back over to campus police.
Edward Waters University, a school in Florida, tweeted a campus update saying, “all in-person activities, classes and operations including all meetings and athletic practices are canceled until further notice.” Local authorities are still investigating the bomb threat on campus.
This is the third round of bomb threats toward HBCUs in the last month. Similar to what happened today, campuses have had to evacuate, lockdown and cancel classes due to the threats.
