Following Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. election, an alarming wave of racist text messages hit Black Americans across the nation, sparking outrage and triggering an FBI investigation. Some of the messages included orders like, “You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.” Many were signed off as being from a “Trump supporter” or included #MAGA, a reference to Trump’s campaign slogan.
The messages, which contained horrifying references to “slave catchers” and “house slaves,” were sent anonymously to both adults and children in states like New York, Alabama, Ohio, California, and Pennsylvania. Tasha Dunham from Lodi, California, recounted the shock her 16-year-old daughter felt after receiving a message directing her to report to a “plantation” in North Carolina. “It was very disturbing,” said Dunham. “Everybody is just trying to figure out what this means.” She, like many others, has since reported the incident to law enforcement.
Schools and universities have also sounded the alarm after students received similar texts. Megan Shafer, acting superintendent of a school district in Pennsylvania, described the messages as “extremely disturbing,” noting the added harm in targeting children. Historically Black institutions, such as Fisk University in Tennessee, also confirmed that some of their students were sent these “deeply unsettling” texts.
The FBI and other agencies are coordinating efforts to track the origins of the messages. The Federal Communications Commission has also stated that it is investigating the case, working closely with state and federal law enforcement. NAACP President Derrick Johnson denounced the messages as a “legacy of evil” intended to intimidate and dehumanize Black Americans, especially at a time when the nation is grappling with deeply polarized political tensions.
