Multiple HBCUs placed on lockdown after campus threats

Several historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) went into lockdown Thursday, Sept. 11, after receiving threats, school officials announced.

Alabama State University, Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College, and Bethune-Cookman University each reported potential threats and halted campus activity. Southern University later lifted its lockdown but cancelled all classes and events through the weekend, officials said on social media.

In Atlanta, Spelman College urged students and faculty to avoid campus after a threat targeting nearby Clark Atlanta University. Clark Atlanta confirmed that its campus police are investigating the threat and lifted a shelter-in-place order later in the day.

Virginia State issued an “urgent alert” around 8:30 a.m. ET, announcing the campus closure and asking students, faculty, and staff to monitor email for updates. The university said its police department, working alongside local, state, and federal agencies, is “actively investigating the credibility of the threat.”

Alabama State confirmed that it received “terrorist threats,” saying in a statement that it shut down campus operations “out of an abundance of caution” while coordinating with law enforcement.

Hampton University canceled all classes Sept. 11–12, stating that it had received notice of a potential threat and was suspending “all non-essential activity, effective immediately.”

Florida A&M cancels classes as precaution

Although it did not receive any threats, Florida A&M University in Tallahassee announced it would suspend in-person classes and its presidential convocation. Classes were shifted online for the evening of Sept. 11 and all day Sept. 12.

“We stand in solidarity with institutions currently under lockdown or threat and extend our support during this time,” the university said in an alert, adding that it is monitoring developments in coordination with the FBI and campus police.

Threats follow years of violence at HBCUs

The lockdowns add to a troubling pattern of threats and violence against HBCUs. In 2022, more than two dozen campuses across 12 states and Washington, D.C., were targeted by bomb threats, triggering a federal hate crime investigation.

In 2023, a gunman was stopped by security at Edward Waters University in Florida before fatally shooting three people at a nearby Dollar General. A year later, gunfire at Tuskegee University left one person dead and 16 others wounded, including students.

Rev. Al Sharpton condemned the latest threats, noting that HBCUs continue to face violence. “Colleges and universities should be a place of free expression and debate in a way that’s respectful, engaging, and productive,” Sharpton said. “What we have seen the last two days is anything but that.”