On the recordMarch 8, 2022
I proudly stand with my colleagues to condemn the terrorizing of our historically Black colleges and universities. The cowards who made bomb threats to America's HBCUs sought to sow fear on the very campuses where Black scholars seek belonging, safety, and support. They exploited the legacy of bombings long inflicted on Black communities, like those ignited in Jim Crow Florida at White businesses that served Blacks, at synagogues, and at the home of the brave civil rights pioneers, Harry and Harriet Moore. They tried to light the same fires of hatred right outside Black bastions of higher learning, like Florida Memorial, Edward Waters, and Bethune-Cookman Universities. On the first day of Black History Month in 2022--2022--over a dozen other HBCUs saw bomb threats and lockdowns. If Howard and Spelman aren't safe, they seem to warn, then neither is FAMU. HBCUs were always scholarly havens when Whites shut Black students out, and they still mold strong Black leaders, celebrate Black culture, and nurture academic excellence. Hatred cannot diminish that, and it will not, but only if we unite as one to affirm that racism and terror will not be tolerated on college campuses, especially our HBCUs. A threat to one, after all, is a threat to us all.
