Racist texts about slaves and ‘picking cotton’ sent to black people in the US

US authorities are investigating reports of black people receiving racist text messages from unrecognised phone numbers telling them they have been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation”.
The texts, which also referenced “slave catchers”, appeared automated. But some who have responded to the sender said they received further texts from them.
State attorneys and police have vowed to find those responsible for the messages, which have been received in more than a dozen states by black children, students and working professionals.
Arleta McCall said her daughter, who is in her first year at the University of Alabama, was “in tears” after receiving one of the texts.
She told: “It’s eerie that it’s the day after the election. It’s eerie that it came to my daughter’s personal phone. It’s eerie that it’s only going to Black students.”
The FBI said it was “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”.
Some of the messages appear to have been sent through phone service app TextNow, which lets users anonymously send texts to people through phone numbers appearing to be randomly generated.
A spokesperson for TextNow said it believes a “widespread, coordinated attack” had taken place.
“As soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly, rapidly disabling the related accounts in less than an hour,” a statement said.
Talaya Jones, a Black resident of New Jersey who received one of the texts, said: “My initial reaction was probably like disbelief, like I thought it was like a joke.
“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.”
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Donald Trump’s presidential campaign spokesperson said the president elect has nothing to do with the messages.
New York’s Attorney General Letitia James called the messages “disgusting” and “unacceptable”.
“I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families,” she said.
The “racist and vile spam text messages” have also spread to Louisiana, Republican state Attorney General Liz Murrill confirmed on Thursday via X.
She said: “I have directed the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation to fully investigate the origins of these disgusting texts that only intend to divide us.”
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