The concept of two Americas has been a focus in American academic thought for decades. When the veil between these “Black” and “white” Americas is pierced, America’s true nature is often revealed.
In the wake of conservative media personality Charlie Kirk’s death, several historically Black colleges and universities reported receiving threats and were forced to suspend campus operations on Sept. 11, 2025. The resounding question for many in the HBCU community was clear: What do we have to do with Kirk’s death?
In times of national tension, Black Americans are often scapegoated. History shows this cycle – from being labeled the “Negro problem” post-Reconstruction, to being unjustly blamed for crime following police brutality, to accusations of unfair advantage tied to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Consistently, Black achievement is framed as an attack on whiteness.
The recent threats directed at HBCUs were not an isolated incident. The racist psyche is puzzling because, for a mind that reveres whiteness as superiority, all roads lead to Blackness. A white man has murdered another white man, yet still, the blame is pointed at Black people.
Whiteness has been deemed the standard, and anything that threatens that standard is deemed an attack on whiteness itself. Blackness has been deemed the antithesis of whiteness, and every Black success is a declaration of war against whiteness in the minds of radical right-wingers.
The best response towards such bigotry, especially when fueled by online discourse, is to dismiss it as baseless. Black students and professionals must continue to thrive – earning internships, scholarships, and jobs – despite narratives that cast their success as a product of DEI rather than merit.
The idea of an impending race war has become a recurring theme in far-right circles. It’s almost as if a population of Americans craves war so their bigotry may finally be ethically justified in a “kill-or-be-killed” way. The guttural violence, hate speech and general ill-will toward African Americans is nothing more than misplaced aggression.
“[The poor white man] ate Jim Crow, a psychological bird that told him that no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the Black man,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ‘48 said in his speech, “Our God is Marching On”.
Today, that mindset extends beyond class lines into an entire political ideology.
In America, where whiteness has long been the standard, Black excellence is treated as an attack on white mediocrity. Yet, the call remains the same: embrace your identity, pursue your goals and let every achievement stand as proof of resilience. Continue to be excellent. Continue to live and thrive. Continue to be Black.
