Racist text messages invoking slavery have raised alarms across the country this week after being sent to Black men, women, and students—including middle schoolers—prompting investigations by the FBI and other agencies.
The anonymous messages, reported in multiple states including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, generally shared a similar tone but varied in their wording. Some directed recipients to show up at a specific address with their belongings, while others did not include a location. Several of the messages also referenced the incoming presidential administration.
It remains unclear who is behind the messages, and there is no comprehensive list of all the areas where they were sent, though high school and college students were among the recipients.
The FBI has said it is coordinating with the Department of Justice on the matter, while the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it is investigating the texts “alongside federal and state law enforcement.” The Ohio Attorney General’s office also confirmed it is looking into the issue.
Fisk University, a historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee, released a statement condemning the messages, which targeted some of its students, calling them “deeply unsettling.” The university urged students to remain calm, suggesting that the messages were likely the work of bots or malicious actors with “no real intentions or credibility.”
In Missouri, Nimrod Chapel, president of the NAACP’s state chapter, reported that Black students in the organization’s Missouri State University chapter received messages citing Donald Trump’s 2020 election win, with some texts singling out students by name and making offensive references to slavery, including a message that told them they were “selected to pick cotton” the following Tuesday. Chapel stated that local police in Springfield, Missouri, where the university is located, have been notified and are investigating.