Georgia is one of several states this week in which Black residents received racist text messages that are currently under investigation by the FBI.
The messages, which vary in wording, tell recipients that they have been placed in “plantation groups” and been selected to pick cotton.
Recipients who have reported receiving the messages outside of Georgia range in location, from fellow Southern states Alabama and Tennessee, to California and Pennsylvania.
“Be ready at 12AM November 12 SHARP. Be prepared to be searched down once you enter the plantation,” said one message reported by NPR.
Other messages reference mentions to Emmett Till, lynching and the Trump administration’s return to the White House.
“The text sent to young Black people … is a public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history. Hate speech has no place in the South or in our nation,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center said in a recent press release.
“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,” added NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson when speaking to the Associated Press. “These actions are not normal. And we refuse to let them be normalized.”
The recipients ranged in age and included six middle school students in Montgomery County in Pennsylvania, according to Megan Shafer, acting superintendent of the Lower Merion School District, as reported by AP.
“The racist nature of these text messages is extremely disturbing, made even more so by the fact that children have been targeted,” she wrote in a letter to parents.
California resident Tasha Dunham told AP that her 16-year-old daughter was a victim of the racist messages, which were sent to her Wednesday evening.
“It was very disturbing,” Dunham said, noting that texts included her daughter’s name and directed her to report to a “plantation” in North Carolina.
“Everybody’s just trying to figure out what does this all mean for me? So, I definitely had a lot of fear and concern,” she said.
The FBI released a statement Thursday saying they have been made aware of the messages and are in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities regarding the matter.
“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities,” the statement said.
There has been no information released as to the identity of those behind the offensive messages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
