Post-Election Racist Texts Sent To Black People In 25 States

Text messages sent to Black people across the United States after the presidential election have caught the attention of federal authorities.

In the wake of the presidential election Tuesday (Nov. 5), a disturbing phenomenon has occurred in which Black people have received racist text messages summoning them for slavery. The incidents have occurred in close to 25 states, prompting federal agencies to begin investigations.

The troubling messages followed a pattern of addressing the recipients by their name and telling them they were selected to “pick cotton” at a plantation, then ordering them to be ready for pick-up at a certain time. Some variations included references to President-elect Donald Trump, and others included, “NO PHONES.”

The NAACP stated that the messages had been received by college students in Alabama, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. New York State Attorney General Letitia James confirmed that middle school and high school students as well as college-age students also received those messages in the state. Officials in Connecticut and California confirmed that residents there also received those texts.

The texts were reportedly sent out as early as Wednesday morning (Nov. 6), with reporting by CBS News affirming that it was through a service called Text Now, which offers free phone numbers. The company issued a statement as the news broke, writing: “One or more of our accounts may have been used to send text messages in violation of our terms of service,” adding it shut down the accounts as it became aware. The Federal Bureau confirmed that it was on the case in a statement: “The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.”

In a statement, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said that the president-elect’s “campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages.” Trump’s presidential campaign was rife with racist sentiments, ranging from slandering Haitian immigrants in Ohio in August, to having a comedian insult Puerto Ricans at his controversial Madison Square Garden rally last month. The barrage of messages queue up the most dangerous times for Black people in the United States. “These actions are not normal,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “And we refuse to let them be normalized.”