Widespread Outrage and Concern: Racist Text Messages Target Black Individuals and Marginalized Groups Across the U.S.
Reports of racist text messages sent to phone numbers across the U.S. have caused widespread outrage and concern, particularly among teenagers and college students. The hateful content appears to target Black individuals and other marginalized groups, including the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities .
The messages, reported in at least 24 states and Washington, D.C., included phrases threatening recipients with being taken to plantations to “pick cotton” or deportation to re-education camps . The FBI has confirmed that the recipients now also include high school students and members of the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities .
The messages, sent via text and email, have prompted investigations at local and federal levels, with authorities urging anyone affected to report the incidents . The racist messages first came to public attention last Wednesday, a day after the presidential election, and spread rapidly across the country .
The texts were often personalized, addressing recipients by name . A disturbing example of these messages reviewed by ABC News read: “You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12 pm sharp with your belongings. Our executive slaves will come get you in a brown van.”
These messages were reported in various states, including California, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and many others, affecting people across racial, ethnic, and sexual identity lines . Students at historically Black colleges, like Fisk University in Nashville, were among those targeted .
Fisk University stated that at least five students reported receiving the messages and assured their community that the messages were likely the work of bots or malicious actors without credible threats of violence . The hateful texts have deeply unsettled students, families, and communities .
Nicole Nuñez, a Los Angeles parent, expressed her shock and sadness after her 15-year-old son received one of the messages . “I don’t understand why there’s so much hate in this world,” she said . Her son’s Hispanic friends reported receiving similar messages, claiming they were being selected for deportation ¹ ².
Parents and students alike have struggled to process the overtly racist and threatening rhetoric, which has sparked fear, anger, and confusion ¹ ². Carryn
