After a video of a student “mocking” Charlie Kirk’s death was posted by Gov. Greg Abbott, Black organizations at Texas State are experiencing an increased amount of racial threats.
NAACP at Texas State released a statement on Sept. 18, discussing the threats that Black students have faced since the Kirk memorial and the aftermath of the video shared by Abbott. Sean Harris, president and CEO of NAACP at Texas State, said after the post from Abbott, Black student organizations were attacked in response.
“We have to think about our safety,” Harris said. “There has been many texts, emails, social media threats and videos going around of people just threatening my culture and my community.”
Harris said organizations like Black Student Alliance were attacked to the point where they had to stop publicly saying where they hold their meetings and private their social media accounts for a few days.
Devion Canty, concrete industry management freshman, withdrew from the university on Sept. 16 after a video of him “mocking” Kirk’s death at a memorial was posted by the governor. Canty said he and his roommates received racial threats after the governor shared the video of him.
“[My friend] sent me the post and my heart literally dropped to my feet,” Canty said. “I did not go to class; I literally was walking around campus with my head down … I was stressing at that time mentally, that’s probably one of the lowest mental states I’ve ever been in.”
Harris said departments at Texas State, other than Student Government, have not reached out to the NAACP about the threats or put out statements; however, NAACP is bringing it up in meetings.
Canty, Harris and Charles Onwukwe, president of Black Men United, told The Star that people at the Kirk memorial on Sept. 15 directed slurs toward students of color in attendance.
“We know who everyone is talking about and there were only [three] members of Turning Point at that event that day. All of the accused were not affiliated with Turning Point USA,” a spokesperson for Turning Point at Texas State told The Star.
Onwukwe said these were not given the same treatment that Black students, like Canty, were given.
“The same day that video was taken, there were many complaints that Black students are getting slurs thrown at them and there’s no statements or investigations going on from the school,” Onwukwe said. “It just looks one-sided.”
Harris said five students reported getting racially profiled at the memorial, yet there’s little coverage on it.
“When I go back to the five students, barely anybody remembers that situation,” Harris said. “We had them get statements and go to our meetings and actually discuss what happened. Some of them are putting police reports in with the campus because they feel unsafe and because they feel uncertain about being a Bobcat. That’s not what we want as student leaders.”
Onwukwe furthered his statements on the unbalanced treatment of students, stating that the university has not done anything in response to the threats directed toward Black students. He pointed to Sept. 24, 2024, when a Black student had the n-word keyed into his car in the Woods Street Parking Garage. The person who committed the crime was arrested on Oct. 14, 2024, and was not immediately removed from the university, differing from the immediate removal of Canty.
“Black student organizations have been under attack recently, especially BSA on Twitter, Facebook; so much racial slander toward these Black student organizations,” Onwukwe said. “The school has not said anything or done anything about it. So that’s just a clear example of the double standard.”
Harris said the trend of racism is more than just a Texas State issue. After Kirk’s death, multiple HBCUs across the country were shut down due to threats.
The NAACP is looking to draft legislation on the university level to address the concerns Black students are facing and to call on administration to make a statement.
“The goal is to … find a route for all students to be able to express themselves safely,” Harris said. “It’s to make legislation, sending it to our SGA, so that it can be implemented on campus. It’s also for an open statement to be made regarding the threats, regarding how we feel. We want to be acknowledged.”
Harris raised concerns about how Black student organizations can have meetings with the threat of racism still looming. He said that he knows one meeting will not fix the problem, but they will continue to work to make sure all Black students are safe.
“We want to just … say we’re proud to be at Texas State because they’re proud to have us,” Harris said. “Actions will always speak louder than words, and we’re in a place where now we have to act as a campus. I want to see change as positive and as conducive to us as a people.”
That sense of community stayed with Onwukwe, who said that while Canty was not a part of BMU, he believed it was crucial that the students stepped up to protect him.
“I think we’ve taken it into our own hands,” Onwukwe said. “That’s why BMU stepped up and did this, because… we don’t know this young Black student, but we just felt like we needed to put that barrier for protection because he is receiving threats and the university’s not doing anything to counter that, I guess we had to counter ourselves.”
BMU was out at The Stallions on Sept. 17 after Canty withdrew to raise awareness on the issues the Black community is facing.
“We didn’t come out to fight or debate or argue; we simply came out to give the students our perspective on the whole matter,” Onwukwe said. “We did say we’re against all types of political assassinations, no matter who it is. But still, there’s so many double standards and that’s what we talked about.”
Student Government issued a statement on Sept. 19, saying all students deserve equal rights and treatment, but there are current inconsistencies and politicization of campus policies.
“We are appalled at the current brigade of hatred and unwarranted attacks, including death threats, being made against specific communities within our student body,” Student Government wrote in its statement. “We stand in solidarity with our Black Student Organizations that are actively facing discrimination and blatant racism online and on campus … We call for the Black Student Organizations and all students to be given respect and protection by every sector of Texas State.”
Black Student Alliance also released a statement on Sept. 22, calling for Texas State administration to ensure that Black students are protected as they experience threats and racism.
“We must highlight the disparity in the university’s swift and attentive response to the video, but lack of condemnation and response to the subsequent narratives being shared about the Black Student Alliance online,” Black Student Alliance wrote in their statement. “The lack of support and continuous threats have left our community shaken and questioning our belonging at Texas State University.”
Black student organizations stated that they are meeting with President Kelly Damphousse to discuss safety concerns for Black students.
