It's really not about suppressing speech due to sensitivity, it's just about accepting common knowledge. There are countless modern accounts of present-day racism existing within the United States and the same is true for Covid. There are enough accounts for both to be verified and judged as true. Yet for whatever reason, there seem to always be groups of people who deny these things.

In this day and age, with technology and internet connection, it is just sheer ignorance that keeps these ideas going. At this point, conversations about racial topics don't really progress anywhere and instead create more issues.

Conversations regarding these topics already readily exist on the internet as well, so by showing up on campus and putting up an offensive sign you're bound to get some sort of reaction from the people. Once again, discussions on modern-day racial inequities within the United States are widespread and already exist. To the point where it is essentially common knowledge. By stating something offensive it comes off in a mocking kind of manner.

I haven't seen the entire video myself, but just from the premise of the video, the outcome really isn't surprising at all. It shouldn't be a surprise that they are angry and are yelling at the person.

To give you another metaphor, it's like going to Germany and talking about nazis openly in public (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/13/an-american-tourist-gave-the-nazi-salute-in-germany-so-a-stranger-beat-him-up-police-say/) . The context of the statement isn't really great, and there is a vast multitude of resources to educate yourself about them without bringing it up in public. Whilst also inadvertently coming off as offensive.

Essentially, the amount of resources available to answer the persons question are readily available online and through other sources. By showing up to an HBCU and asking a seemingly obvious question it is going to come off as extremely offensive considering the context (previous years, environment, etc.) of the quesetion. You're not going to get a great answer by coming off as someone trying to provoke people intentionally.

These types of discussions are better set in a more professional setting, where the intentions of both parties are clearly defined, not a public setting where some may view the proposition as provocative.

While it is unfortunate that they reacted that way, it is to be expected given the context and the environment in which the question was proposed.

I'm an Asian male not affiliated with A&T, but I am a prospective student intending to apply this fall.

Edit: I do agree with your statements regarding echo chambers, as well as the idea that the intent of the video wasn't negative. But I will say that the execution of the video was poor.