Black colleges won't stop in the face of bomb threats

Friday, February 4

Howard University in Washington was among the colleges that received threats.

Black colleges won't stop in the face of cowardly bomb threats

Happy Friday! Here's what we have to wrap up the week:

Today we are leading the newsletter with a column about the recent bomb threats that happened at HBCUs across the U.S. Thankfully no one was hurt, and students continued learning. I hope you enjoy reading today's newsletter!

Black colleges won't stop in the face of cowardly bomb threats

By Angelyn Armistead and Dennis Aftergut

Learning while Black. That's what those behind Tuesday's national epidemic of bomb threats against at least 16 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) would like to stop.

Threats went to Jackson State University in Mississippi, Spelman College in Georgia, Kentucky State University, Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, among others. Schools from Maryland to Missouri were targets.

HBCUs educate about 300,000 students annually. They become our country's doctors, scientists, journalists, engineers, lawyers, doctors and news anchors.

And therefore they seem to frighten the supremacist, domestic terrorist movement.

Today's Editorial Cartoon

Don Landgren, USA TODAY Network

USA TODAY Network

Afghan refugees are finding a warm welcome in America

By John M. Bridgeland and Cecilia Muñoz

As we face tough times in America, including huge losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, one columnist wrote that America is falling apart at the seams. But there is a different story that Americans are writing as they rally behind the need to help new neighbors and the nation.

In one of the largest volunteer mobilizations in half a century, Americans and their institutions are stepping up to help our Afghan allies settle in the United States.

Within days of the evacuation of thousands of Afghans from Kabul, Americans across all backgrounds, sectors and politics started to move toward, rather than away from, the challenge of helping them relocate.

I have no sense of smell, but I can still inhale the world

By Connie Schultz

One of the enduring side effects of COVID-19 for millions of people is its impact on their sense of taste and smell. Some experience diminished senses, while others lose them entirely.

As my colleague Grace Hauck reported, most suffer from this for just a few weeks. But a growing number of people are experiencing long-term deprivation, and researchers can't yet say for sure when their sense of smell and taste may return, if ever.

This is frightening news for people who worry about issues of safety, such as the ability to smell a gas leak or smoke. Careers can be at stake, too, for those whose jobs depend on a strong sense of taste and smell.

What I most often see in news coverage and on social media, though, are stories of people who feel the quality of their lives have been deeply diminished because they can no longer smell and taste. This hits me hard, as I've known for decades what they're only discovering.

Columns on qualified immunity

We are doing a series examining the issue of qualified immunity. For more on the series read here.

•	Fix racist policing by focusing on ethics, inclusion in training
•	A rookie cop searched my sons at gunpoint. Where's our justice?
•	Ending qualified immunity could cost lives, livelihoods
•	Qualified immunity shouldn't protect police from justice, consequences