Last night, people unknown at this time to law enforcement violated the peace on one of the nation’s most historic Black college campuses, Morgan State University. While we are thankful that no students sustained life-threatening injuries in this shooting, we are outraged by this cowardly act and encourage anyone with information to inform the police. This campus holds a special place in the hearts of Iota Men as the birthplace of our beloved fraternity. We pray for the protection of students, staff and faculty on the Morgan campus and encourage the greater Baltimore community to do likewise.

No student, whether in a secondary school or on a college campus, should fear attending school out of concern over their safety. No amount of security can provide blanket protection when, as a society, we have condoned the proliferation of firearms and gun violence. Our children deserve better. There is nothing the Morgan State administration could have done to prevent what occurred on campus last night. This is a problem that extends beyond the boundaries of the campus. It’s not a uniquely Baltimore problem either. It’s a national problem.

How many shootings and deaths must occur before lawmakers take action to curtail access to firearms? We do not know of a gun manufacturer in the city of Baltimore, or any of our major urban centers, yet guns have flooded our cities and specifically in our Black and brown communities. So, while some lawmakers religiously cling to the Second Amendment, parents and families get the phone call no family wants to receive: that their child has been shot or killed by gunfire. We cannot allow lawmakers to sit on their hands while blood is shed on our streets. As we face another congressional and presidential election cycle, we must make reasonable gun control a public policy priority.

I urge you to write to your Member of Congress and demand they support common-sense gun control. You can use this link to contact your member of the House of Representative and your two United States Senators. Do not write once. Do not write twice. Write every month until Congress acts.
  
We encourage students to seek the counseling support the university is providing students. We know this is a traumatic experience and we hope it won’t deter you from pursuing your education on a college campus that has a glorious history of molding and graduating Black scholars. Your home away from home has been violated, and we know the natural tendency is to want to leave. Please reconsider if that is your thought in this moment. Reflect on the courage that is symbolized by the Frederick Douglass statue on your campus, and recommit yourself to the principles of leadership, excellence and respect that are part of the university’s core values. Now is the time to show your Morgan pride.
 
In this moment, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., stands with President David Wilson and our Morgan State family. This is Homecoming Week at Fair Morgan and our message to the campus is – Keep your heads held high and don’t be deterred. Keep your schoolmates in your prayers and demand that our elected leaders take action to make our communities safe. The Men of Brown and Gold love Morgan State University and urge law enforcement to bring the suspects in this case to justice. 

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For further information, contact Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Director of Communications, Walter Fields, using out Contact Page.