() – Authorities across the United States are investigating the sending of racist text messages, some with references to “slave catchers” and “cotton picking” that evoke the country’s painful and intolerant past. The messages were sent to children, university students and professionals from unrecognized phone numbers, in the wake of the presidential elections.
The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) warned Thursday of the possible broader implications of the hateful rhetoric reported in more than 20 states, from New York to California and the city of Washington. Attorneys general of both parties they are condemning the messages and promising to pursue those who send them.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a president who has historically embraced and sometimes encouraged hate is unfolding before our eyes,” said NAACP CEO, Derrick Johnson. “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and hateful rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and fan the flames of fear that many of us are feeling in the wake of Tuesday’s election results.”
Donald Trump’s “presidential campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages,” his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear who sent the messages, and there is no complete list of who they were delivered to. At least some appear to have been sent through TextNow in what the company “believes… is a widespread and coordinated attack,” it told on Friday.
“As soon as we became aware, our Trust and Safety team acted quickly, quickly deactivating the related accounts in less than an hour,” said the company, whose service allows people to sign up anonymously using an email address and sending text messages that appear to come from a randomly generated phone number.
The “text messages appear to be directed at black and brown individuals, including students,” the New York attorney general said.
“The FBI is aware of offensive and racist text messages sent to people across the country and is in contact with the Department of Justice and other federal authorities about the matter,” the agency said in a statement. release on Thursday.
contacted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC, for its acronym in English).
Talaya Jones, a black resident of Piscataway, New Jersey, was “shocked” when she received a racist text message Wednesday telling her she had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” the court said. Thursday to . The text message also references “executive slave catchers,” a screenshot Jones shared with shows.
“My initial reaction was probably like disbelief, like I thought it was like a joke,” said Jones, who forwarded the text message to loved ones. “It really just shows that we haven’t come as far as everyone thought we had come as a nation, since the times when slavery was still a reality.”
The FBI and Maryland law enforcement authorities are aware that students and others are receiving the text messages, Montgomery County Public Schools said in a statement, noting that “law enforcement authorities in some areas have announced that they consider messages as low-level threats.”
“We recognize that the emotional and psychological impact on our students, staff and, in particular, our communities [negras y morenas] It runs deep,” the school board statement said. “We stand in solidarity with those who feel attacked and hurt by these actions.”
The text messages refer to the period from the beginning of the 17th century to the end of the Civil War in 1865, when millions of enslaved Africans were sent to the United States and forced to work on plantations.
Many were forced to live and work on plantations that grew cotton, considered one of the main cash crops. They picked cotton for long hours and suffered from heat, humidity, unsanitary conditions, untreated diseases, malnutrition and rape.
Enslaved people were often auctioned off and sold to other slave owners, causing families to break up.
Slave catchers, also known as slave patrolswere legally in charge of controlling the enslaved population. Their duties included pursuing and apprehending runaway slaves and returning them to their “owners,” enforcing curfews, and beating and terrorizing rebellious or disobedient slaves.
This week at the University of Alabama, Alysa, a freshman honors student, was crying and wanted to go home after receiving a message telling her she had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.” and that she had to “prepare to be registered,” her mother, Arleta McCall, told .
“It’s creepy that it’s the day after the election. It’s disturbing that it found its way onto my daughter’s personal phone. “It’s disturbing that it only reaches black students,” McCall said. “Her group of friends has marked their paths to class so they can walk together and stay safe.”
The University of Alabama acknowledged that “people across the country have received these disgusting messages” and urged anyone with information about them to report them, according to a statement.
“Racist and vile spam text messages” have also spread to Louisiana, the state’s Republican attorney general, Liz Murrill, confirmed Thursday. via X. “I have directed the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation to thoroughly investigate the origin of these disgusting text messages that are only intended to divide us,” he said, urging anyone impacted to report the messages to his office.
Condemning the messages as “disgusting and unacceptable,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said the “messages appear to be directed at black and brown individuals, including students, and may include personal information about the recipient, such as their name or location,” he said in X. “I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families.”
In Virginia, a news channel cameraman WVEC-TV He received a text message from an unknown phone number, addressing him by name and telling him that he had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” he said.
“I feel like it’s spam,” recipient Sam Burwell said in an article published by the station. “I am disappointed by the message they are sending a day after the election.”
Overall, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office is “aware of these text messages and unequivocally condemns them,” spokeswoman Chloe Smith said, noting that “anyone who believes they are threatened should not hesitate to contact law enforcement.” as well as with your local FBI office.”
A racist text message from an unknown number also reached Laura Bass-Brown’s 15-year-old daughter by name, she told KHOU 11 Newsa affiliate in the Houston area. It initially seemed automated, but after reviewing screenshots from her daughter’s friends, she discovered that the sender often replied when students responded, Bass-Brown said.
The Nevada Attorney General’s Office is working with law enforcement to investigate “the origin of what appear to be robotext messages,” the office said in a statement. statement in X.
The Washington Attorney General’s Office is also “aware of the racist text messages being sent to residents there, and unequivocally condemns them,” spokesman Gabriel Shoglow-Rubenstein said.
“Anyone who receives these messages should contact our Civil Rights section by calling 202-727-3400 or emailing [email protected]. “If you believe your safety is in danger, please contact local law enforcement,” he said in a statement to .
TextNow is “collaborating with our industry partners to uncover more details and continue to monitor patterns to actively block any new accounts that attempt to send these messages,” the company told on Friday. “We do not tolerate or condone the use of our service to send harassing or spam messages and will work with law enforcement to prevent these individuals from doing so in the future.”
– ‘s Nicquel Terry Ellis, Hanna Park, Alayna Treene, Andy Rose and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
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