Dougherty Sheriff’s Office reaches out to Albany State in wake of bomb threats at HBCUs

ALBANY — A series of threats this week against historically black colleges and universities across the country has caught the attention of local law enforcement, but no threats have been reported at local HBCU Albany State University.

Bomb threats against nine institutions were reported on Tuesday, but Albany State was not among those targeted.

“We were made aware of it this (Wednesday) morning,” Dougherty Sheriff Kevin Sproul said of the threats. “We have reached out. Chief (Deputy Terron) Hayes spoke with their assistant police chief this morning. We told them we were there to help them if they need us.”

So far Albany State has not indicated a need for assistance, Sproul said.

The targeted colleges included Florida Memorial University, Howard University, North Carolina Central University, Norfolk State University, Spelman College, Texas Southern University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Xavier University.

Some campuses were evacuated while bomb searches were conducted.

Albany State President Marion Fedrick said she would be available to address the issue on Thursday.

In November, a series of bomb threats were directed at four Ivy League Colleges over a period of several days.

The threats, while not directly linked, are indicative of disdain some hold for those considered the “elites” of the Ivy League and racism against historically black institutions, part of an undertow of anti-intellectualism in segments of the population, Albany State criminal justice professor James Pratt Jr. said during a telephone interview on Wednesday.

The racism related to those opposed to black people learning is not a recent development, he said, and is a means of intimidation. As a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, also an HBCU, Pratt learned the history of a bell still on the campus.

The bell was rung to warn students to come inside when there was the threat of an attack on the campus, an occurrence that was not uncommon during the early history of the college, he said.

“It’s nothing new,” Pratt said. “HBCUs often see there (are) people who don’t understand their legacies.”

Staff members were returning to campus on Wednesday for three days of staff meetings prior to the return of students on Monday, Pratt said.

While officials said the threats were unfounded in both of the spates of college threats, Albany City Commissioner and Albany State alumnus Jon Howard said such incidents have to be taken seriously.

“You can’t take it for granted now,” he said. “Some folks will do anything. I just really don’t know what to say. … I never thought what occurred at the Capitol (on Jan. 6, 2021) would happen. With 360 million people in this country, we all don’t think alike or look alike. It really just reminds you to be aware of your surroundings.”

Special Photo: ASU