Six Juveniles Investigated for Bomb Threats Against HBCUs

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Facts

  • The FBI announced on Wednesday that they've identified 6 juvenile persons-of-interest in a series of bomb threats targetting historically black colleges and universities.1
  • At least 17 institutions received threats between Monday and Tuesday, leading to the cancellation of in-person classes and building lockdowns.2
  • 8 HBCUs also received bomb threats on Jan 5.3
  • The FBI are investigating these as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes.2
  • So far no threats have been described as credible.2

Sources: 1USA Today, 2New York Times and 3Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by USA Today. This was an attack on learning while Black, and serves as a reminder that HBCUs are a haven from white supremacy. Domestic terrorism has exploded in recent years and future copycats and extremists must be stopped.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Forbes. HBCUs must contend with the shadow of violence, which is tied to their systemic underfunding. These threats are sadly just the latest indignity HBCUs have suffered. State legislatures nationwide need to be proactive and fix this.