Several historically Black colleges and universities locked down and canceled classes Thursday after receiving threats to campus safety, according to notices from campus officials and media reports.
The affected institutions include Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, Clark Atlanta, Hampton, Southern and Virginia State universities.
Alabama State canceled all campus activities Thursday after receiving a “terroristic threat,” according to media reports. Although university and law enforcement officials issued an all-clear notice in the afternoon, the institution said it remained closed to the public and asked on-campus students to keep sheltering in place.
At least four of Georgia’s HBCUs likewise locked down after Clark Atlanta University received a threat, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Each institution — which included Spelman and Morehouse colleges — lifted their lockdown orders by early afternoon.
In Virginia, at least two institutions also received threats.
Hampton said it would halt all nonessential activities through Friday after getting “notice of a potential threat,” according to a social media post from the institution.
Virginia State likewise went into lockdown as law enforcement investigated “the credibility of the threat” it received Thursday, the university said on social media. Later that day, Virginia State President Makola Abdullah said the lockdown had been lifted.
“To those who seek to silence or scare us: we will not be intimidated,” Abdullah said. “For over a century, Virginia State University and other HBCUs have stood as a beacon of knowledge, excellence, and resilience. Today’s events only reaffirm our commitment to providing a safe and empowering environment for our students, faculty, and staff.”
Southern University, in Louisiana, Thursday afternoon lifted the lockdown order imposed following a “campus safety threat,” it said in a social media post. However, the university canceled all classes and campus activities through the weekend.
In Florida, Bethune-Cookman officials canceled classes due to a “potential threat to campus safety,” it said in a social media post. The university ordered employees on campus to head home and others to work remotely. It also advised students to shelter in place in their dorms.
Police gave the all-clear notice for the campus in the early afternoon, The Daytona Beach-News Journal reported.
On the other side of the state, Florida A&M University had not received a threat but was monitoring the situation, it said in a social media post. “We stand in solidarity with institutions currently under lockdown or threat and extend our support during this time,” it added.
In early 2022, HBCUs received waves of bomb threats that forced them to lock down their campuses and cancel classes. Later that year, the U.S. Department of Justice said it identified a juvenile it believed to be behind what it called racially motivated threats.
Thursday's threats came just one day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck on Utah Valley University’s campus during an event that drew some 3,000 attendees.
