“You’ve been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”
This racist statement was part of a series of disturbing text messages sent to Black people, including children and college students, in multiple states just one day after the results of the 2024 Presidential election.
Black people from states including Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, New York, and South Carolina detail incidents where they received racist messages, according to CBS News. The texts have left recipients upset and alarmed as they feature language evocative of America’s dark past.
In Piscataway, New Jersey, Talaya Jones told CNN that she was “shocked” when she received a text on Wednesday stating she had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” accompanied by a reference to “executive slave catchers.” “My initial reaction was probably like disbelief; I thought it was a joke,” Jones shared. She forwarded the message to loved ones, reflecting, “It really just shows that we didn’t come as far as everybody thought we did as a nation, from back in the day when slavery was still a thing.”
Similarly, Corryn G. Freeman, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, described receiving a racist text around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. “It just really sparked fear. It sparked anger,” Freeman told CBS News, expressing the unsettling suspicion that she was targeted specifically as a Black woman. She posted the message on Instagram and soon learned that two friends’ Black children had received similar texts. “It’s not fair that they have to process this level of racism after an election they did not participate in. But because of the boldness of whoever this is post-election, they are subjected to it,”Freeman added.
Devereaux Adams, 27, also shared feelings of “fear and hurt” after receiving a similar message on Wednesday afternoon. Adams described his confusion over how the senders obtained his contact information, noting, “I don’t feel safe at all.”
The FBI has since released a statement acknowledging the incidents: “The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.” The agency encouraged the public to report threats of violence to local law enforcement.
On Thursday, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson condemned the racist messages and weighed in on the broader impact of these racist messages. “The unfortunate reality of electing a president who, historically, has embraced and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” Johnson said. “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday’s election results.”