Numerous historically Black colleges across the nation, including Winston-Salem State University, have been the targets of the unverified bomb threats in recent weeks. (Image via WSSU)
The FBI is investigating more than 20 bomb threats against HBCUs as racially-motivated hate crimes. Fayetteville State and Winston Salem State in NC were among the latest to receive threats.
Another day. Another round of bomb threats against a number of the nation’s historically Black colleges, including two schools in North Carolina.
North Carolina, which has the largest HBCU undergraduate population and the second-most HBCUs in the nation, reported threats at Fayetteville State University and Winston Salem State University. Clafin University in South Carolina was also threatened Wednesday. More than 20 such bomb threats have been reported across the nation this year.
No arrests have been made in the recent spate of arrests, though the FBI are pursuing the cases as hate crime investigations.
We believe in a North Carolina for everyone. Subscribe to the free Cardinal & Pine newsletter.
As C&P Associate Editor Emiene Wright wrote this month, it is no coincidence these threats are intensifying during Black History Month. These schools, bastions of Black excellence for generations, were founded in many states as a refuge for Black students, and they’ve been targeted by white supremacists for decades.
No bombs have been found on campuses following the threats, but “people of color don’t have that privilege to think it’s not real,” Lance Wheeler, director of exhibitions at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, told NPR in this Feb. 7 report.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate in the US, wrote Thursday morning that the bomb threats have been “deeply impactful” on campuses, rattling students’ sense of safety and well-being.
“HBCUs have been and continue to be central to Black scholarship and the inclusion of Black voices in the American dialogue,” the SPLC wrote Thursday. “We condemn the targeted violence and threats aimed at these storied institutions and will do everything we can to support the HBCU community.”
Law enforcement said the FBI is investigating the bomb threats, which disrupted the campuses for hours on Wednesday. As of Feb. 7, the FBI had reported at least 17 bomb threats at the nation’s HBCUs, including a threat in January at NC Central University in Durham.
Below we have collected the response from North Carolina and national figures on the bomb threats. We send all of our support and respect to these venerated schools.
Author
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for North Carolinians and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at Cardinal & Pine has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of North Carolina families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
Op-Ed: Studying the Holocaust remains vital to ensuring it never happens again
International Holocaust Day will be observed on January 27, 2024. This day commemorates the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the...
VIDEO: How Rural Broadband Is Coming to This North Carolina County
More than 1.1 million North Carolinians lack access to high-speed internet, a necessity of the modern economy. In Warren County, help is on the way,...
VIDEO: Sampson County puts Biden’s promise to boost rural infrastructure to the test
Locals in this rural NC county say their water and air is polluted by a PFAS-contaminated landfill, massive hog and poultry farms, and industrial...
VIDEO: Sampson County puts Biden’s promise to boost rural infrastructure to the test
Locals in this rural NC county say their water and air is polluted by a PFAS-contaminated landfill, massive hog and poultry farms, and industrial...
Mold and classes in trailers: Inadequate funding for schools is hurting NC communities
Schools across the state are dealing with dilapidated classrooms and buildings in need of significant repair or a total rebuild due to a lack of...
