Historic Black Colleges Locked Down Across the U.S. After Multiple Threats — What’s Going On?
I woke up this morning with a knot in my stomach hearing the news — multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities are locked down, classes canceled, and students terrified. Alabama State, Virginia State, Hampton University, Southern University in Louisiana, Clark Atlanta, Spelman College, and Bethune-Cookman are all among the schools taking precautions after receiving threats.
It wasn’t just one scary message or rumor. These are serious alerts. Hampton University suspended almost everything non-essential for the rest of today and tomorrow. Spelman, because it sits so close to Clark Atlanta, started sheltering in place out of an abundance of caution. Southern University in Baton Rouge shut down the whole campus, including its Law Center, telling everyone to stay where they are until further notice.
What hurts most reading this isn’t just the fear. It’s knowing students and faculty are trapped between needing to feel safe and needing to continue their lives — studying, teaching, just being young adults. Some schools canceled classes through the weekend. Some haven’t lifted the lockdown yet.
These schools say they don’t know exactly who made the threats or why. No violence has been reported so far. But the fact that “if you see something, say something” has become something people are whispering everywhere is heartbreaking. When students can’t walk around freely, when you don’t know which hall is safe or whether a message is real — that’s when anxiety becomes part of the daily news.
This comes just a day after the tragic killing of Charlie Kirk at a Utah Valley University event, which sent shockwaves across the country. Many communities are asking: are these threats somehow inspired by that violence? University officials have said there is no confirmed link yet between the threats and what happened with Charlie Kirk.
I can’t help but feel sad for the students. For parents. For professors who love their work and want nothing more than to teach and learn. All they want is to feel safe enough to live their ordinary lives without glancing over their shoulders. No headline should steal peace like this.
As the hours pass, law enforcement at all levels are investigating. Security increased. Messages being sent. Notices posted. I hope that soon there’s clarity, calm, and—for all those at these schools—the understanding that this moment will pass. That safety returns. That no threat, real or imagined, can dim the flame of hope and education.
