Let’s be more honest about the bomb threats against historically Black colleges

It’s time Biden and Psaki spoke more plainly about the situation

White House press secretary Jen Psaki answers questions during the daily White House briefing on 1 February 2022 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

“We don’t think it’s by coincidence that we received this particular threat at this particular time,” A. Zachary Faison, Jr., president of Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, explained to Reuters on Tuesday. The threat in question was a 3:30 a.m. call to the Jacksonville sheriff’s office warning that “multiple explosive devices” had been placed around the campus and would be detonated 12 hours later. Afterwards, the threat continued, there would be a school shooting. It was one of several threats made to at least 17 historically Black colleges and universities since the start of the week.

On Monday, Southern University and A&M, Bethune-Cookman University, Albany State University, Bowie State University, Delaware State University, and my alma mater, Howard University, all received bomb threats. The following day — which marked the first day of Black History Month — threats were made to Morgan State University, Fort Valley State University, the University of District of Columbia, and Edward Waters University.

There were a series of unsubstantiated threats in November directed at several Ivy League schools, but Faison was correct in his assertion that this is by no means a coincidence. Black colleges and universities are being targeted with greater frequency. And there are plenty of reasons to worry how real the threats might get over time.

Last March, the US intelligence community warned of an ongoing threat from white supremacists and like-minded violent extremists with the will to carry out mass casualty attacks on civilians. Likewise, they warned, militia groups could target police in addition to government personnel and buildings. The agencies — including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center — pointed to recent political and social developments such as claims by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that the 2020 election “will almost certainly spur” some domestic extremists “to try to engage in violence.”

However, racists attacking HBCUs predate Donald Trump.

Howard University came under threat from racist attackers during riots in Washington in 1919. Historian Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Black History Month, was at the time a new dean at Howard University, and narrowly escaped harm by hiding from a violent white mob. On what he witnessed, Woodson said: “They had caught a Negro and deliberately held him as one would a beef for slaughter, and when they had conveniently adjusted him for lynching, they shot him. I heard him groaning in his struggle as I hurried away as fast as I could without running, expecting every moment to be lynched myself.”

These attacks were a result of a racist lie ginned up by vile sections of the media. Sound familiar?

Howard was attacked again in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. It’s what happens when white grievance is allowed to bleed into violence in Black spaces. Some would like for history to repeat itself.

The question is whether or not our government officials are prepared to deal with it.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that President Biden is aware of the latest bomb threats made to HBCUs. “I will say that these are certainly disturbing,” Psaki told reporters. “And the White House is in touch with inter-agency partners, including federal law enforcement leadership on this.”

“The president is aware. I don’t believe he’s received a formal briefing, but he is aware of these reports,” she added.

Well, considering the threats poured in the very next day, I’m glad President Biden has since received a formal briefing. Yes, it is disturbing, but this is not a new trend and there are examples from this century speaking to that. A month ago, eight HBCUs received bomb threats – leading to evacuations and select schools being ordered into lockdowns.

That’s why I wasn’t quite sure why Psaki on Tuesday said with respect to the motivation behind the threats, “We don’t have an assessment of that quite yet, but we take these threats seriously.” I don’t expect Psaki to wave her arms in the air to say “The racists are coming! The racists are coming!” but it would be nice to hear at least some level of straightforwardness.

A racist ex-president is presently still fueling racial animus in America as the political party he maintains control of launches a nationwide effort to block any mentions of race in schools and libraries. Meanwhile, Fox News and other conservative media outlets continue to create programming that stokes prejudice. See all of those complaints about a Black woman becoming a Supreme Court justice for the first time in history and it somehow being bad for the white guy? Yep, they’re a part of it. So are those nonsensical complaints about “critical race theory” found on the right-wing airwaves these days.

It’s clear what’s happening on the right — a joint statement from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Alma Adams calling the threats “hate crimes” implies they know exactly what they’re dealing with. So why can’t Biden and his team be a little more forceful, a little more blunt about the role of white supremacy in our society?

In the meanwhile, the FBI said it is aware of the series of threats and is working with law enforcement to find those responsible. “As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately,” the FBI said in a statement to ABC News.

Hopefully the public plays its part, but as these bomb threats increase, so does the severity of the issue. As the Biden administration seeks to make history this month with the announcement of the first Black Supreme Court justice, it needs to be as vocal as possible in denouncing racism. Only by doing so can our president make sure the uglier aspects of American history do not repeat itself.