By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
kmcneir@afro.com
The list of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to receive threats after the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk continues to grow, with several HBCUs going into lockdown on Sept. 11.
At different points on Thursday Alabama State University; Hampton University; Clark Atlanta University; Southern University; Bethune-Cookman University; Virginia State University and Spelman College all went on lockdown due to direct threats or “potential threats” to their campuses.
Students and faculty at Virginia State University (VSU) received an “urgent alert” and news that the campus had been closed because of a “potential threat” at 8:30 a.m. EST, on Sept. 11. An Instagram post issued by VSU confirmed that it had “received a threat” and that “out of an abundance of caution,” the VSU campus was placed on lockdown.
No incidents or injuries were reported.
VSU authorities took to social media with updates.
“VSU Police, in coordination with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, is actively investigating the credibility of the threat received earlier today,” a post read. The lockdown was eventually lifted, but local media reports that only students, faculty and staff with VSU identification are allowed on campus.
Similar actions were taken by officials at Alabama State University (ASU) where officials suspended all campus activities and classes just after 12 noon on Sept. 11.
To update the campus, ASU indicated that campus police were actively clearing all buildings on campus,” and advised students living on campus to “shelter in place inside their residence halls until further notice.”
At Hampton University, classes and scheduled athletic events were canceled for Thursday and Friday, Sept. 11 – 12. Officials said in a statement that because of a “potential threat” on campus, “all members of the Hampton University community [should] remain vigilant.”
As for Southern University in Louisiana, a lockdown was issued for its entire Baton Rouge campuses, including its Law Center, according to the school’s post on X. The community was urged to “shelter in place until further notice.”
On Instagram, school officials at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., notified students and faculty that the university was on lockdown due to a potential threat for reasons related to campus safety.
Due to threats made against Clark Atlanta University (CAU) in Atlanta, Spelman College also briefly went into lockdown status. By Thursday afternoon the Hampton, ASU, Southern, Bethune-Cookman and CAU lockdowns had all been lifted.
Probable cause for lockdown measures
The lockdown measures come on the heels of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, 31, a far-right commentator, social media influencer and staunch supporter of the 47th president of the United States, who was on the front leg of scheduled nationwide speaking tour at Utah Valley University (UVU) when a still unknown assassin shot and killed him.
The shooting took place around 12:20 p.m., local time, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, during a student question and answer session at Q&A at UVU in Orem, per a statement from UVU.
On Sept. 11, the FBI released images of a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Kirk and requested the public’s assistance in efforts to identify the shooter. Images show the man wearing a baseball cap and a long-sleeve shirt depicting an American flag and bald eagle.
Video footage shows the suspected shooter, described by officials as a “college-age man,” jumping off a building following the shooting and fleeing into a neighborhood. According to law enforcement, a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle” has since been recovered in a wooded area.
President Donald Trump released a video statement on Truth Social on Sept. 10, during which he praised Kirk, while blaming the murder on “the radical left.”
On Sept. 11, civil right activist, the Reverend Al Sharpton, issued a statement calling for an end to threats to HBCU campuses and all forms of violence amid tensions after the killing of Kirk.
The lockdowns count as part of a longer, disconcerting history of violence and threats aimed at HBCU institutions, reportedly by White supremacists.
In his statement, Sharpton “condemned the shooting of Donald Trump last year, the murder of Charlie Kirk yesterday, and the threats to HBCUs today,” adding that he plans to secure additional members to his security detail due to increased threats.
Law enforcement officials have been unable to link any of the threats to HBCU campuses to the shooting at Utah Valley University.
Sanford Bishop, Jr, a representative of Georgia’s Second Congressional District issued a statement on the threats.
“Today’s terrorist threats targeting Clark Atlanta University, Alabama State U., Virginia State U., Hampton U. and other campuses must be investigated by federal authorities,” he said, via his social media account on X (Twitter). “Religious, race/ethnicity, or sex-based violence is despicable, hateful extremism and an assault on American ideals.”
Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, president of VSU, had a message for those responsible for the threats.
“To those who seek to silence or scare us: we will not be intimidated. For over a century, Virginia State University and other HBCUs have stood as a beacon of knowledge, excellence, and resilience,” he said in a statement. “Today’s events only reaffirm our commitment to providing a safe and empowering environment for our students, faculty, and staff.”
Abdullah continued, stating that “The greatest revenge is to get an education. Every step you take forward, every class you attend, and every degree you earn is an act of resistance and triumph.”
