Black Unity: HBCU Shootings

Over the weekend, the HBCU landscape has seen it’s fair share of bloodshed and hardship. On multiple fronts, the safety and wellness of HBCU students has been brought into question, and not for the first time.
There is a certain prestige that’s associated with attending an HBCU, yet alone those the stature of Southern, Grambling, and Howard University. When we as high school seniors thought about these places of black heritage in the past, they were thought of as institutions of honor and prestige. And yet, the gunshots still ring on our campuses.
Last week, gunshots sounded on Southern University’s campus as two non-students were non fatally wounded in a shooting in the residential areas. On Wednesday of the same week, four non-students were shot on Grambling’s campus, with one succumbing to his wounds. And on Sunday, more of the same transpired as eight more non-students were shot, with one dying as a result of the shooting. And so it goes.
At a certain point, maybe we become desensitized to the bad that goes on in the world. In that regard, being at an HBCU is somewhat of an escape from the horrors that our world shows us so frequently. Still, when these occurrences happen in our safe spaces and we aren’t at fault a students of our institutions, it does become frustrating.
As students, we all made the choice to attend HBCUs, and we know what comes with these choices because of what we all seek when choosing to attend an all-black college; community, acceptance, and unity. It could be argued that we seek homes away from home, but in these times, I couldn’t feel more at risk here. I’d wager that many of my peers feel the same way.
I realize that the actions of individuals can’t all be accounted for, and that there likely were precautions in place to stop these events from occurring. I also understand that from an administrative standpoint, there’s only so many protocols that can be put into place until it becomes an ‘inconvenience’. Taking all this into account however, we still expect more.
As students, we give you our money and entrust you with our safety for as long as we choose to be educated here. So as shareholders of these institutions ourselves, is every precaution being taken for our safety too much to ask?
How are people who aren’t students getting onto our campuses at any and every time of the morning? How are they doing so repeatedly in the same week across multiple higher learning black institutions? And how come for all the money we contribute to our universities, no one ever seems to have answers?
I understand the inconvenience aspect of things that worries students and faculty alike. I’m a student, and we’re all on timetables. But when it’s night time and the lights go out, there’s no reason why we should be vulnerable to a bullet’s path when the issue doesn’t even concern us.
To that end, it would be my recommendation that administrative leadership on all affected campuses take every precaution to make nightfall on HBCU campuses a safe space and period of time for students and all campus inhabitants. We’re not asking you to be perfect, we’re just asking you to be open to the idea that more can be done.
Homecoming is afoot at Southern, and the surrounding areas speak for themselves as far as notoriety. This year, finally back to some sense of normality after a national pandemic, we need to be able to feel at home for homecoming. Take your precautions, dot your I’s, cross your T’s, and in this moment, let’s try to rise above.