The FBI is investigating the wave of racist messages sent following Donald Trump’s presidential win (Picture: Getty)
‘You have been selected to be a house slave’ – read one of the messages Black Americans received following Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections.
A wave of racist texts with references to slave catchers’ and ‘picking cotton’ were sent to people, including children, prompting inquiries by the FBI.
Sent anonymously from unrecognised numbers, they were reported in a number of states, including New York, Alabama, Ohio, California and Pennsylvania.
One of the messages said: ‘You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.’
Some were labelled as coming from a ‘Trump supporter’ or included the hashtag, #MAGA, Trump’s campaign slogan ‘Make American Great Again’.
Some instructed the recipient to show up at an address at a particular time ‘with your belongings,’ while others did not include a location.
All texts were sent anonymously and it is not yet known who sent them
Tasha Dunham of Lodi, California, said her 16-year-old daughter showed her one of the messages on Wednesday evening before her basketball practice.
The message not only used her daughter’s name, but it directed her to report to a ‘plantation’ in North Carolina, where Dunham said they have never lived.
When they looked up the address, it was the location of a museum.
‘It was very disturbing,’ Dunham said. ‘Everybody is just trying to figure out what does this all mean for me? So, I definitely had a lot of fear and concern.’
Her daughter initially thought it was a prank. But her mother reported it to police.
Some were labelled as coming from a ‘Trump supporter’ or included the hashtag, #MAGA
She said: ‘I was not in slavery. My mother was not in slavery. But we are a couple of generations away.
‘So, when you think about how brutal and awful slavery was for our people, it is awful and concerning.’
About six middle school students in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, received the messages too, said Megan Shafer, acting superintendent of the Lower Merion School District.
‘The racist nature of these text messages is extremely disturbing, made even more so by the fact that children have been targeted,’ she wrote in a letter to parents.
Students at some major universities, including Clemson in South Carolina and the University of Alabama, said they received the texts.
The Clemson Police Department said in a statement that it had been notified of the ‘deplorable racially motivated text and email messages’ and urged anyone who received one to report it.
Fisk University, a historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee, also called the messages that targeted some of its students ‘deeply unsettling.’
It is not yet clear who was behind the messages and there was no comprehensive list of where they were sent.
The FBI said it was in touch with the Justice Department on the messages, and the Federal Communications Commission said it was investigating the texts ‘alongside federal and state law enforcement.’
President of human rights group NAACP, Derrick Johnson, stressed these actions are ‘not normal,’ adding: ‘The threat – and the mention of slavery in 2024 – is not only deeply disturbing, but perpetuates a legacy of evil that dates back to before the Jim Crow era, and now seeks to prevent Black Americans from enjoying the same freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.’
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