​Black Mizzou Students Tweet Horrifying Tales of Threats from Angry White Students Amid Growing Racial Tension on Campus

Screen Shot 2015-11-11 at 1.27.05 AMThe University of Missouri says it is investigating threats made on social media and has increased security on campus but refused to cancel classes.

The reports of threats and intimidation came after days of protest at Mizzou, as students demanded the President step down for his ineffectiveness of handling racial issues on campus. On Tuesday night, the university announced that it had increased security in response to the threats.

On Tuesday, the University of Missouri Police Department said it confirmed that a “phoned-in threat” was made earlier in the day to the Black Culture Center on campus. The building doors were locked, and the facility was searched, but nothing suspicious was found, authorities said.

Threats were posted to the messaging service, YikYak, in which someone said they would “stand my ground and shoot every black person I see.”

The Twitter account for the Missouri Student Association, the undergraduate student government at the University of Missouri, posted the following screenshots from YikYak:

Early Wednesday morning, police announced the suspect was in custody.

Black students from the university began to evacuate from campus after a series of racist confrontations.

Students took to social media to share their accounts.

There university dismissed all accounts as rumors.

Black students began to contact professors to inform them of the current campus climate and their apprehensiveness of returning to campus in light of the recent threats and incidences. One professor, Dr. Dale E. Brigham, replied back to a student saying, “If you don’t feel safe coming to class, then don’t come to class. I will be there, and there will be an exam administered in our class.”

The campus police department said it was continuing to investigate the threats.

Independent journalism doesn't fund itself.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top