A viral video showing a Clark Atlanta University student being violently assaulted by a Morehouse student has sparked widespread outrage and demands for accountability across the HBCU network and beyond.
On Friday, Nov. 21, Clark Atlanta junior Kayla Bryant posted a TikTok describing the altercation in which she alleges she was violently strangled by a Morehouse student, soon after it occurred and was recorded by bystanders.
Bryant says the confrontation began on a campus shuttle when a couple sat in front of her and began making out, prompting her to move. She alleges the male student stepped on her foot, and when she asked him to apologize, he refused.
“He steps on me and I say, ‘Excuse me, can you apologize?’” Bryant says in the video. “And he didn’t say anything. As I’m walking off the shuttle, his girlfriend is standing there….”
Bryant says the girlfriend confronted her immediately.
According to Bryant, the woman asked, “Is there a problem?” The two exchanged words, and Bryant says the girlfriend put her hands in her face. Bryant says the girlfriend then turned to the Morehouse student and asked, “You got it, bae?”
What happened next, Bryant says, was an assault.
“He picks me up off the ground and starts strangling me. I couldn’t breathe, and I was kicking off the walls to gain balance,” Bryant explained. “He was telling me he was going to kill me.”
In the footage circulating, Bryant can be seen being attacked and strangled by a male as he yells various threats, including that he is going to kill her.
In a second post, Bryant updates her followers after visiting the hospital.
“A stranger tried to take my life today, but God gave me two hands and feet so that’s cool,” she wrote over the video.
The original footage spread rapidly across social media, amassing hundreds of thousands of views and shares, intensifying public scrutiny.
Neither the Atlanta Police Department nor either institution has released the names of those involved or announced any arrests or disciplinary action. However, the video prompted swift public statements from both campuses.
Morehouse’s Office of Student Services called the conduct “disappointing” in an Instagram post.
“We want to state unequivocally that the behavior shown is disappointing and completely inconsistent with Morehouse’s mission, values and expectations of its community members,” the statement reads.
“Our campus Safety and Student Services team responded swiftly to review the matter through our established student conduct processes,” the statement continued. “We are also working in close partnership with Clark Atlanta University leadership and the Atlanta Police Department to fully investigate the situation and to reach a resolution.”
Morehouse College President Dr. F. Dubois issued an additional statement condemning the violence.
“Whether physical, verbal, or written, violence and threats of violence have no place in the Morehouse community, particularly violence against women,” he wrote.
He added that Morehouse men are expected to uphold values of “compassion and moral discipline.”
“As a father of four, including two daughters, and as a president leading an institution that uniquely develops Black men, it is even more imperative that we all maintain an unwavering commitment to upholding these core principles,” he continued.
Clark Atlanta University’s President George T. French Jr. also issued a statement on Instagram.
“I am deeply concerned by the assault recorded and witnessed on social media of one of my students this week,” he wrote. “As the president of this institution, my first priority is the safety and well-being of our students. As a father, this disgusting display of violence against a young woman is unacceptable and has no place in our community.”
He added, “We want to be clear: Violence as a whole within our society is antithetical and disruptive to our culture. Moreover, violence of any kind, particularly against women, is intolerable, unacceptable, and has no place on our campuses.”
As of now, there have been no new public updates from authorities or either school. Meanwhile, internet sleuths have circulated the alleged identities of the couple involved. After being named online, the girlfriend updated her Instagram bio to read: “I will be posting my side soon.”
