'Pick cotton at...plantation': Black students targeted in racist texts post-election
Black college students across the United States have complained of receiving anonymous racist text messages. The messages, which reference US slavery, asked the recipients to "pick cotton at the nearest plantation." The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes across the country, and local officials in Ohio, Alabama, South Carolina, and other states were looking into the texts.
Civil rights organizations condemn racist text messages
The texts surfaced after Donald Trump's election victory. Some of the messages claimed to be from "A Trump supporter." The racist texts also targeted high school students. Mary Banks of Columbus, Ohio, said her 16-year-old daughter received one of these messages. Similar reports emerged from Clemson University in South Carolina and the University of Alabama. At present, it is unclear who sent the texts or how many were sent.
NAACP confirms racist texts received in 9 states
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) confirmed such texts were received in at least nine states. Derrick Johnson, NAACP president, connected this rise in racist rhetoric to Trump's election victory. Schools like Fisk University and Howard University were among those targeted. The FBI is actively investigating along with other federal authorities, while the New York Attorney General's office reported similar incidents in New York City schools.
Trump campaign denies connection to racist text messages
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung has denied any connection to these messages. He said, "The campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages." Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic, said this was the first time she had encountered a widespread racist attack via text messaging. Tracking down the perpetrator of the campaign may be difficult, depending on how widespread it is, she explained.
