DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Booed At Howard University Commencement
"Mayor Bowser does not represent a future we as Howard students want."
Mass shootings at, near 2 historically black colleges on their homecoming weekends raise concerns about possible deadly trend
Mass shootings at and near a pair of historically black colleges and universities over their homecoming weekends Friday and Saturday left one dead and at least 11 wounded, authorities said.
The violence was an eerie repeat of tragedies that took place last fall at two HBCUs — also during their homecoming festivities — and some observers are concerned about a possible trend.
'This is becoming an every-year occurrence at a lot of schools.'
1 dead, 6 wounded at Lincoln University
At Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania — about an hour and 15 minutes west of Philadelphia — one person was killed and at least six people were wounded after a shooting Saturday evening, WHP-TV reported.
Officials identified one suspect as 21-year-old Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, the station said, adding that court documents indicated he was charged with carrying a firearm without a license and was being held in Chester County Prison on $25,000 bail.
Officials said they believe the suspects did not attend homecoming with the intent to commit a mass shooting, WHP reported.
RELATED: Black men don’t want to go to historically black colleges and universities? Here's why
A 25-year-old male from Wilmington, Delaware, was identified as the deceased victim, the station said, adding that he reportedly was shot in the head. The six wounded victims are expected to survive and are in the same age range — between 20 and 25 years old, WHP said.
Lincoln University's president in a Sunday statement said classes are canceled Monday in order to have a day of "healing and reflection," the station said.
More from WHP:
Authorities have not released the names of any victims. The DA said they were in the process of speaking with victims to learn more about what happened during the shooting.
Lincoln University's police chief said the shots were fired in the parking lot of the International Cultural Center on campus. He said at the time there was a tailgate ceremony taking place following the college's homecoming football game. He said tents and other tables were set up throughout the lot.
5 wounded near Howard University
Five people were shot near Howard University — a historically black college and university in Washington, D.C. — on Friday night during its homecoming weekend, WRC-TV reported.
D.C. police said the victims — four adults and a teenager — were taken to hospitals and were expected to survive after the shooting at Georgia Avenue and Howard Place, the station said.
Witnesses told WRC that dozens of people ran down Georgia Avenue from the shooting scene to a McDonald's after shots were fired.
According to a statement from Howard University, a fight or confrontation between two suspects occurred before shots were fired, WRC reported, adding that police said none of the shooting victims are Howard students.
The university added in a Saturday statement that nobody from Howard was involved in the shooting, the station reported.
WRC said the university's Homecoming Kick-Off Alumni & Friends Welcome Reception and the Greek Step Show were being held Friday night.
'Something's going on'
The Root, in its report about the pair of shootings, quoted a TikTok user as remarking, “First Howard, now Lincoln, something’s going on."
The outlet added, "Among the jokes and quippy TikToks is something darker ... Black Americans are feeling unsafe."
The Root said another TikTok user recalled shootings last year at HBCUs and wondered if this represents a trend. Another user said, “This is becoming an every-year occurrence at a lot of schools, smh," according to the outlet.
Last fall, two shootings occurred at two HBCUs — also during their homecoming weekends.
A dozen people were shot — one of them fatally — at Tuskegee University in Alabama last November. The deceased individual, an 18-year-old, reportedly died at the scene. One man reportedly was charged with possession of a machine gun in connection with the shooting. A month prior, five people were shot — one fatally — in a crowded area near a campus concert at Albany State University in Georgia.
Following the 2024 HBCU shootings, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter penned an op-ed stating that there is a "growing and disturbing trend of gun violence that is threatening to change the nature of Black colleges' most sacred institution — homecoming."
The AJC reporter, Ernie Suggs, added:
In 2022, four people, including three students, were wounded near Clark Atlanta University after a drive-by shooting during a homecoming celebration.
In 2023, five people, including four students, were shot at Morgan State University. It was the third consecutive year that homecoming festivities at the Baltimore school were marred by gunfire.
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‘She Didn’t Have the Decency’: Sulking Kamala Slinks Away From Election Loss
The Democrats’ replacement candidate has been missing in action since her Election Day loss to Donald Trump.President Biden warns Howard University graduates: 'The most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy'
President Joe Biden gave a commencement speech at Howard University on Saturday, when he warned graduates of the dangerous threats the country faces from white supremacy.
Biden told the graduates of the historically black university, "The most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy."
He proudly added, "And I’m not saying this because I’m at a Black HBCU, I say it wherever I go."
\u201cBiden at Howard Univ.: \u201cThe most dangerous threat to our homeland is white supremacy \u2026 and I\u2019m not just saying this because I\u2019m at a black HBCU.\u201d\u201d— Tom Elliott (@Tom Elliott) 1683995950
Biden claimed that he hoped hatred would disappear after Barack Obama was elected as president of the United States, but alleged that hatred "never goes away" and only "hides under rocks."
"A vivid demonstration when it comes to race in America, hope doesn’t travel alone. It’s shadowed by fear, by violence and by hate," he asserted.
"There are those who demonize, and pit people against one another," President Biden added during his address, likely hinting at former President Donald Trump. "There are those who would do anything, everything, no matter how desperate or immoral, to hold on to power."
Biden continued, "That's never going to be an easy battle. But I know this: The oldest most sinister forces, they believe they'll determine America's future. But they are wrong. We will determine America's future. You will determine America's future."
Biden rehashed the Capitol riot from Jan. 6, 2021.
"January 2021 – I stood in the U.S. Capitol to be inaugurated as president of the United States," he said at the commencement ceremony. "Just days before, on that very spot, a violent insurrection took place. A dagger at the throat of democracy."
"For the first time in our history, an attempt to stop a peaceful transfer of power in this country. They failed. Our democracy held. Again hope prevailed," Biden said.
Biden then mentioned Vice President Kamala Harris, "And this time I was standing with a black woman, about to take a two-mile procession down Pennsylvania Avenue as president and vice president of the United States of America."
Biden mentioned the Howard University marching band performing at Biden's inauguration.
Biden bragged, "I was able to fulfill my commitment to put the first black woman on the Supreme Court of the United States of America."
Biden touted Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as "brighter than the rest" of the Supreme Court justices. He added, "She is one bright woman."
\u201cBiden on Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson: \u201cBy the way, she\u2019s brighter than the rest\u201d of the Supreme Court. \u201cShe is one bright woman.\u201d\u201d— Mark Joseph Stern (@Mark Joseph Stern) 1683994219
Biden attacked the Republican Party for opposing his student debt relief plan. He then conflated student loans with the Paycheck Protection Program launched during the pandemic that offered potentially forgivable government loans to small businesses.
“This new Republican Party is dead set against it, suing my administration to stop you from getting student debt relief," Biden argued. "The same opposition who received relief loans, I might add, to keep their businesses afloat during the pandemic.”
Biden was awarded an honorary "Doctor of Letters" degree from Howard University during the ceremony.
Biden's speech at the historically black university arrived in the same week that a new poll showed that he is losing support from the black community.
The latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows Biden has a 58% current approval rating among black adults. The AP noted, "Roughly 9 in 10 black adults approved of Biden over his first months in office."
Only 41% of black adults want Biden to run in the 2024 presidential election, and just 55% said they would be likely to support him in a general election.
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WATCH LIVE: Biden delivers commencement address at Howard University www.youtube.com
University taps twice-failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate as 'Chair for Race and Black Politics'
Howard University has tapped twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to serve as "Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics."
"In this role, Abrams will foster interdisciplinary collaborations across the University on critical issues of race and Black politics, especially those issues that affect Americans of the African diaspora. The chair will inspire research and encourage broad discussions of scholarship for real-world solutions to complex, seemingly insoluble societal problems that adversely affect African diasporic communities and other vulnerable populations. Finally, as the inaugural chair, Abrams will lead a vibrant Ronald W. Walters Speakers Series with invited guests on a range of topics representing diverse perspectives," according to a press release.
Abrams, a Democrat, lost the 2018 and 2022 Georgia gubernatorial contests to Republican Brian Kemp. She had previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives.
The Washington Post reported that during an interview, Abrams did not rule out running for office in the future, but noted that doing so is not currently her focus. The outlet reported that she anticipates beginning the multiyear appointment in September and will engage in some travel to Washington, D.C., but stay based in the Peach State.
"We are entering an inflection point in American politics where the conversation of race and Black politics will be a central facet," she said, according to the Post, "and having the chance to help guide part of the conversation for young people who are studying at Howard University is an exceptional opportunity."
"From my alma mater, Spelman College, I have carved out a career that allows me to weave together policy analysis, political leadership, social justice, business, environmental, entertainment, and more. Through this post, I hope to emulate Dr. Walter's diasporic lens on our world and be a part of how Howard University continues to contribute to the broader political discourse," Abrams said, according to the press release.
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