Multiple HBCUs hit with bomb threats for second day in a row as Black History Month begins

For the second time in 24 hours, at least a dozen historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the US have been subjected to bomb threats – this as the country observes the first day of Black History Month.

At the time of writing, no viable devices had been found, and the source of the threats has not been made clear.

Among the institutions reporting a threat was Washington, DC’s Howard University, which was also targeted by an apparent hoax yesterday.

According to the school’s official Twitter feed, the latest threat was received at 2:55am on Tuesday morning; an “all clear” was issued several hours later.

Among the other schools targeted was Morgan State University in Baltimore, whose president, David Kwabena Wilson, confirmed in a statement that a threat had been received but that no devices had yet been found.

“My message to you this morning,” he wrote, “is to stay strong, remain resilient, and continue to prepare yourselves to grow the future and lead the world because our nation and world desperately need more leaders steeped in the values we teach here at Morgan. Those values are Leadership, Integrity, Innovation, Diversity, Excellence and Respect. Hate is not one of them!”

As reported by The Atlantic’s Adam Harris, the list of HBCUs receiving new threats also included Kentucky State, Fort Valley State, Xavier University of Louisiana, Alcorn State, Spelman College, Edward Waters, Jackson State University, and two colleges in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Besides the messages received today and yesterday, several HBCUs have already been targeted with similar threats this year. Howard, Spelman and Xavier were all among a group of schools that received threats on the same day in early January – none of which saw devices discovered.

Several of the schools threatened announced that in-person classes would be suspended while the threats were investigated pending the all-clear.

These incidents are occurring at a time of elevated concern about racially motivated domestic terrorism, a problem so severe that last month, the Department of Justice announced a new unit dedicated to confronting homegrown terror threats.

Speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 11 January, Matthew Olsen, head of the department’s National Security Division, warned that the US faced an “elevated threat” from “those who are motivated by racial animus, as well as those who ascribe to extremist anti-government and anti-authority ideologies”.

Some right-wing Republicans have responded to the focus on racially motivated and right-wing domestic terrorism with skepticism, instead pointing to the southern border as a potential entry point for foreign terrorists.