Officials say racist texts about slaves and cotton harvesting are being sent to black men, women, and students across the United States in response to the presidential election results. A 15-year-old Mississippi girl received one of the texts.
“My daughter, around 8 p.m., just started screaming for me,” said Kimberly Campbell, of Madison. “She’s downstairs, I’m upstairs and I’m like, ‘What is it? What is it?’ And she shows me this text message on her phone.”
The text message said in part, “You have been selected to pick cotton at ur nearest plantation … Our exclusive slaves will come get you in a white van, be prepared to be searched for any weapons, alcohol or anything that can hurt the president.”
The communication concluded with a threat of “lynching” her in front of her school if she disobeyed.
“Insulting, to say the least,” Campbell said. “It had her full name and that really was shocking to me.”
Attorneys general offices in numerous states said people reported receiving the text, but officials have yet to identify the sender. Campbell said she reported the texts to her daughter’s school and encouraged others to do the same.
“This would be silly people or children or some pranks, I do understand that. I do understand that this is not going to be high-level, like a murder investigation, but I do think that people need to be put on notice,” Campbell said.
FBI officials say they are discussing the messages with the DOJ.