Racist text messages have been received by Black Americans, including school and college students, in at least 32 states including Wisconsin since the results of the election. Milwaukee residents of all ages have also received racist messages.
Additionally, political parties are not relevant to who is presented with these messages. Black Democrats and Republicans have both received racist messages.
The messages tell the recipients that they have been “selected for cotton picking” or to become “a slave.” Additionally, the texts include instructions to be ready to be picked up in a van at a certain date and time. Some messages include the recipient’s name or location.
Recipients have said they feel unsafe and like they’re being watched. Students who have received these messages across college campuses have been referred to their campus’ Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX.
At least some messages have claimed to come from “A Trump supporter,” though the Trump campaign strongly denied any connection.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People condemned these messages and said they were a consequence of the election.
Derrick Johnson, NAACP president, said the messages are “an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric.”
By Thursday, several numbers associated with the messages were disconnected. It is unclear who is behind the messages, their motivation and how they acquired phone numbers of Black individuals. Some of the numbers have been tied to users of TextNow, which is a provider that allows free phone numbers to be created.
In a statement, TextNow said, “One or more of our accounts may have been used to send text messages in violation of our terms of service.”
TextNow also noted that accounts had been shut down as soon as they became aware of the situation.
A statement from the FBI said they are “aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and are in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.”
This story was written by Gabriel Mannion. He can be reached at [email protected].
