Civil rights leaders are raising alarm over pro-Donald Trump racist text messages targeting Black Americans less than 48 hours after the 2024 presidential election.
The messages in question, which the White House told theGrio “sound concerning,” have been sent to many Black recipients, primarily targeting students on college campuses, according to reports.
While the texts – sent before and after Trump defeated Kamala Harris on Tuesday – vary in language, many indicate to recipients that they have been selected to “pick cotton” on a plantation. Some of the messages include the first names of the recipients and have claimed to be from the “Trump administration” or Trump supporters.
“Greetings, You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12PM SHARP with your belongings,” reads one text message received by a resident in Washington, D.C., reports local TV station News4. “Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Black Van, be prepared to be searched down once you’ve enter [sic] the plantation. You are in Plantation Group S.”
Widespread reports of racist text messages sent to Black Americans saying, "you have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation," are spreading across social mediahttps://t.co/cgS10XAYwX
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 7, 2024
Another text sent to a resident in Virginia told the recipient that they would be a “house slave” at the Abingdon Plantation in Arlington, which is now a historical site on land shared with the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
According to USA Today, similar racist text messages have been reported in Alabama, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The plantation texts have also targeted college campuses, including Clemson University, Ohio State University, University of Alabama, and others. Other text messages have warned of a threat from white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson condemned the emergence of the racist text messages and put some of the blame squarely on Donald Trump, the president-elect.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a President who, historically, has embraced, and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” Johnson said in a statement. “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.”
Johnson continued, “The threat—and the mention of slavery in 2024—is not only deeply disturbing, but perpetuates a legacy of evil that dates back to before the Jim Crow era, and now seeks to prevent Black Americans from enjoying the same freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.”
The civil rights leader said the NAACP – the nation’s oldest civil rights organization – would not allow such racist messages to be “normalized.” The NAACP has alerted and urged the FBI and local law enforcement to take the racist plantation text messages seriously and “respond appropriately.”
Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, condemned the messages targeting Black Americans as a “public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history.”
Huang added, “Leaders at all levels must condemn anti-Black racism, in any form, whenever we see it — and we must follow our words with actions that advance racial justice and build an inclusive democracy where every person feels safe and welcome in their community.”
When theGrio asked about the racist texts at a Thursday press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden-Harris administration had not been tracking the incidents but said more broadly, “It is important for every community to feel safe [and] to feel protected.”
“That is something that this president has done and the vice president has done over the [past] three and a half years. We understand how vulnerable communities can feel, and it is important that we do that,” said the Biden spokesperson.
Jean-Pierre said Biden wants to “lead by example” in his final 74 days in office.
“That’s why we keep talking about a peaceful transfer of power. That’s why we keep talking about the importance of the election system and the results because he believes it’s important,” she added.