At least six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) received threatening communications that forced campus-wide lockdowns and class cancellations on Sept 11. The affected institutions included Alabama State University, Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana, Clark Atlanta University, and Bethune-Cookman University in Florida. Spelman College also implemented precautionary shelter-in-place protocols due to its proximity to Clark Atlanta University.
The FBI later called these threat calls a “hoax” with no credible threat identified, though the agency emphasized it takes such threats “very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk”. Despite being false alarms, the threats successfully disrupted campus life, canceled classes, and created widespread anxiety among students, faculty, and staff.
These threats represent the continuation of a disturbing pattern targeting HBCUs that has persisted for years. The most significant previous wave occurred in 2022, when HBCUs received nearly 50 bomb threats, with several occurring during Black History Month. That series of attacks prompted federal investigation as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes…