Channing Donald, Taquari “T.Q.” Hatch, Eric Williams, RegalMag.com publisher Todd A. Smith and George Harrison (L-R) enjoy the festivities at Southern University’s homecoming in 2015 (Photo Credit: Regal Media Group, LLC).
Do not get it twisted.
Violence on college campuses is nothing new.
Predominantly White institutions (PWIs) of higher learning have dealt with gun violence since a sniper murdered people indiscriminately from a tower at the University of Texas in 1966.
But it seems Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have dealt with more violence and more threats of violence this semester.
After the assassination of controversial conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk while speaking at Utah Valley University, a PWI in Orem, Utah, HBCUs began receiving bomb threats.
HBCUs like Southern University, Alabama State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University and Clark Atlanta University went on lockdown after receiving bomb threats.
Spelman College, which is near Clark Atlanta, also went on lockdown.
Although the FBI labeled the threats as a “hoax,” they also said, “The FBI takes these threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk.”
The Congressional Black Caucus put out a statement which read, “The threats made against several Historically Black Colleges and Universities are not only vile—they are a chilling reminder of the relentless racism and extremism that continues to target and terrorize Black communities in this country.”
Then, reports of violence started spreading through mainstream media about incidents after football games, homecoming events, and similar situations.
Last week, one person was killed and two people were shot at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss.
WLBT reported, “A Vicksburg woman is dead, and two others are injured after a shooting at Alcorn State University.
“The university advised those on campus to seek shelter immediately and not to leave that secure location until given an all-clear signal by Campus Police.
“According to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the shooting occurred near the Industrial Technology Building on campus at approximately 6:30 p.m.
“Upon arriving at the scene, officers discovered three victims with gunshot wounds.”
At the time of publication of this article, no arrests have been made in this case.
The deceased has been identified as Brekyra Fisher, 29, of Vicksburg, Miss.
WLBT also reported a shooting near the tailgating section of the parking lot at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss.
Emma Nisbet of WLBT reported, “Saturday, Oct. 11 was Jackson State University’s Homecoming game against Alabama State University.
“According to (Interim Police Chief Tyree) Jones, a small child was injured in the shooting and [had] been transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center by officers from the Jackson Police Department.”
At the time of this article’s publication, officers did not have a suspect in the shooting.
On Oct. 4, a shooting occurred in Montgomery, Ala.’s nightlife district, blocks away from where Morehouse College and Tuskegee University competed on the gridiron at Crampton Bowl.
The shooting did not necessarily have anything to do with the football contest.
PBS reported, “Rival gunmen started shooting at each other in a crowded downtown nightlife district in Alabama’s capital city…killing two people and injuring 12 others, police said.
“One of the dead included a woman and three of the injured were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, including a juvenile, police said…
“It was a particularly busy weekend in Montgomery, with Alabama State University’s homecoming football game that day at Hornet Stadium, the Alabama National Fair ongoing at Garrett Coliseum and the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College rivalry football game just ended at nearby Cramton Bowl.
Montgomery Police Chief James Graboys called the incident a “mass shooting.”
Graboys added, “This was two parties involved that were basically shooting at each other in the middle of a crowd…(They) did not care about the people around them when they did it.”
In 2022, nine Southern University students were injured in a shooting at a party at the Baton Rouge Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. frat house, which is across the street from the campus.
Many students and alumni of HBCUs have also criticized supporters of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement for showing up to campuses like Tennessee State University, uninvited, wishing to engage in political debates with students walking to and from classes.
While the MAGA supporters said that they only wanted to engage in a free speech debate, many from the HBCU community believe that they set up on the Nashville, Tenn., campus to antagonize the students and get a response, which could go viral.
Some on social media have said that if the Tennessee State students had responded violently, that would have been used as an excuse to cut funding to the HBCU.
Despite not responding violently, Tennessee State students and police officers escorted the MAGA “debaters” off campus in a video that went viral.
Critics of Tennessee State’s response to the MAGA visitors criticized the way the visitors were treated and continued to call for a loss of state funds.
Visitors to a college campus often must pass through checkpoints.
And to set up as a vendor, groups need approval from the university.
The MAGA “debaters” did not have approval and were sneaked onto campus.
The visitors said that they did not know Tennessee State was an HBCU.
Undeterred by that unceremonious removal from the HBCU campus, many Black MAGA supporters have said that they will attend several HBCU homecomings to engage in debates with Black liberals and moderates.
Believing that these “debates” at festive activities like college homecomings are meant to trigger the Black community, social media users have urged Black students and alumni not to engage with MAGA or Kirk supporters.
Instead, they are encouraging HBCU family members to ignore the debates and carry on with the regularly scheduled programming.
