Rep Adams pens letters to White House and Dept Heads on HBCU Security
Co-Chair of HBCU Caucus Seeks Assurances for HBCU students after spate of violence on campuses
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Wednesday, October 11, 2023) – Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12) today sent a trio of letters to President Biden, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, addressing the recent spate of violence on HBCU campuses and calling for increased security measures to be taken.
The letters follow incidents of gun violence on the campuses of Morgan State University and Bowie State University, both in Maryland, this past week.
“Every student deserves the right to receive their education without the fear of violence,” Rep. Adams states in the letter. “As Co-Chair of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, I am concerned about the safety and security of our HBCU campuses. With Morgan State University and Bowie State University in such close proximity to each other and violence happening within a few days of each other, it is important to look at the overall safety of HBCU campuses. To that end, there needs to be a concerted effort to provide funding to HBCUs for them to protect their student body and faculty from violence. Many of these HBCUs have open campuses and are soft targets for outside attacks. Any individual or group with the intention of harming these campuses can do so with relative ease. Therefore, the safety and security of these campuses needs to be a top priority.”
Rep. Adams further requested regular meetings with and updates from each of these departments and the White House, to discuss safety on HBCU campuses. The letters follow correspondence last week to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, citing similar concerns, from both Rep. Adams and Congressman French Hill (AR-2), her fellow Co-Chair on the bipartisan HBCU Caucus, as well as Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tim Scott (R-SC), who chair the Senate counterpart.
Links to the letters:
To FBI Director Wray and Attorney General Garland
To Secretary Mayorkas (Homeland Security)
To Secretary Cardona (Education)
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Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County) and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where she serves as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.