At least 16 historically Black colleges and universities said they received bomb threats Tuesday, disrupting or cancelling classes. On Monday, at least five other Black colleges said they received threats. So far, no bombs have been found, reports the Wall Street Journal. There were 100 Black colleges as of 2019. The FBI said Tuesday that it is aware of the bomb threats and is working with law-enforcement partners. It declined to say how many threats have been made. At Spelman College in Atlanta, a threat received on Tuesday was the second in two weeks, said President Mary Schmidt Campbell. She said that as a result of an appeal to officials, the city’s police department will increase patrols.
In Jacksonville, Fl., Edward Waters University canceled in-person classes while police searched the campus for 10 hours, starting at 4 a.m. The university’s president, A. Zachary Faison, Jr., said on Twitter that anonymous threats of violence and a bomb were made at 3:55 a.m. Local and campus police searched buildings. Students were asked to wear their IDs around campus even after the all-clear was given. Black colleges that didn’t receive threats were on high alert. Safety sweeps were conducted at Grambling State University in Louisiana out of an abundance of caution. In Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department said no hazards had been found after early morning bomb threats were made at Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia. Both campuses were reopened around 7:30 a.m.