WASHINGTON — Racist text messages targeting Black individuals, including teenagers and college students, were sent to phone numbers across the United States last week, prompting widespread condemnation and a federal investigation.
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The texts, which included offensive language and references to slavery, were reported in at least 24 states and Washington, D.C., and appear to have primarily targeted Black users, from teenagers to adults. Investigators confirmed that most of the messages were sent last Wednesday, the day after the presidential election.
“I don’t understand why there’s so much hate in this world,” said Nicole Nuñez, whose 15-year-old son, a Los Angeles charter school student, received one of the messages. “I don’t understand why they don’t like us because of the color of our skin.”
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Mobile Provider Shuts Down Accounts Linked to Racist Messages
TextNow, a mobile service that allows users to create free phone numbers, confirmed Friday that “one or more” accounts on its platform allegedly sent out the racist messages. The service quickly disabled the accounts and is cooperating with law enforcement to trace the source of the messages, a spokesperson told media.
Some of the texts directly addressed recipients by name, increasing the sense of personal targeting. According to a representative from TextNow, once the accounts responsible for the messages were flagged, they were deactivated in under an hour.
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Schools Respond as Students Across the Nation Report Receiving Messages
Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho addressed the racist messages in a statement, acknowledging that several students in his district were among the recipients.
“We are aware of racist and incendiary texts that are being sent to students nationwide, including to some of our students,” Carvalho said. “We unequivocally condemn this hateful and threatening rhetoric. We are investigating this situation. Students and families who receive these messages should contact their school for support.”
One of the texts reviewed by media read, “You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12 pm sharp with your belongings. Our executive slaves will come get you in a brown van. Be prepared to be searched down once you’ve entered the plantation. You are in plantation group W.”
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Reports Surface Across Multiple States
As of Saturday, law enforcement in states including California, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin had received reports of the texts. Additional reports came from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Washington, D.C.
At Fisk University, a historically Black institution in Nashville, at least five students received the messages, according to a university statement. The university noted that other students also reported receiving the texts, which appeared to be circulating on social media as well.
“We are aware of disturbing and offensive messages appearing to target members of our community,” Fisk University stated. “These messages, which suggest threats of violence and intimidation, are deeply unsettling. However, we want to assure you that these are likely the work of an automated bot or malicious actors with no real intentions or credibility.”
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Federal and Local Law Enforcement Investigate
Federal and local authorities, including the FBI, are investigating the source of the messages and have asked recipients to report them to law enforcement. Investigators are working to determine whether the messages originated from a domestic or foreign source.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a video statement on X that some of the messages were traced to a VPN in Poland. “At this time, they have found no original source—meaning they could have originated from any bad actor state in the region or the world,” Murrill explained. She also warned that the messages might contain malware.
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Community Leaders Call for Action and Unity
Reverend Amos Brown, president of the NAACP’s San Francisco branch, called on community leaders and officials to speak out against the texts. “City officials, pastors, democratic clubs, need to speak up and speak out and cannot be silent,” Brown told media. “If you are silent it suggests you are complicit with evil.”
Carryn Freeman, a nonprofit leader near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, said that she and some of her friends’ children received the texts. She described parents as “angry and looking for ways to prevent such incidents from happening again.”
“I got mad that my friends’ children were receiving this,” Freeman told media. “Fifteen-year-olds who are having to process very overt, pre-Jim Crow, transatlantic slave trade level racism in their text messages. Then they have to go to school the next day.”
As authorities continue their investigation, communities are rallying to support those affected and to demand accountability for the perpetrators behind the hateful messages.
