Donald Trump who is a polarising figure won the US election by a land slide over Democrat candidate, Kamala Harris. Just a day after his victory at the polls, Black Americans mass reported texts they received that they would be picking cotton soon.
With the country’s obvious history of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery where black people were made to pick cotton and were brutalised, these texts brought up trauma among the black population.
“Greetings! You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12am November 13 sharp with your belongings.
“Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a brown van. Be prepared to be searched down once you have entered the plantation,” read the texts which were widely shared across social media.
After Trump’s election win, Black folks across the US received racist text messages telling them that they had been “selected” to pick cotton and to report to “the nearest plantation”. pic.twitter.com/x6dxjsxwkY
— Science Dispels Religion (@DennisF79338235) November 8, 2024
Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries responded to the texts, saying: “Racist, vile and threatening texts messages are being sent to young African-Americans throughout the country, including on college campuses. These are extremists in America who feel empowered. We will not be intimidated by anyone.”
The FBI is now reportedly investigating the racist texts.
“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,” reported the BBC.
TextNow, a cellphone company which enables consumers to register phone numbers for free, discovered that one or more of its services were utilised in sending the viral text messages.
The business disabled the accounts within an hour of finding the misuse, according to a statement.
“We do not condone the use of our service to send harassing or spam messages and will work with the authorities to prevent these individuals from doing so in the future,” said the company.
IOL