Headline Roundup • November 12th, 2024
Racist Texts Sent to Black Americans Spark FBI Investigation
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The FBI is investigating reports of text messages about slavery sent to black Americans across the United States after Election Day.
The Details: The messages told recipients across the country they had been "selected for cotton picking" or to become "a slave." Some messages instructed recipients to report to a specific time and place to be picked up, and the recipient's name or location were sometimes included. Some were signed as from president-elect Donald Trump or his incoming administration. It’s unclear who sent the texts; Trump’s campaign denied any connection.
Key Quotes:
- NAACP Chief Executive Derrick Johnson said the messages “represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday's election results.”
- The FBI said it 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.”
How The Media Covered It: Across the spectrum, news outlets described the messages as racist. The story was more widely covered on the left than the right. CBS (Lean Left bias) said it briefly contacted one of the senders, who said the “message was a prank.” Washington Times (Lean Right) wrote that people may be misinterpreting what appeared to be a “prank” as “more nefarious” because “emotions are high following Tuesday’s presidential election.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
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Authorities are investigating racist text messages sent to black Americans across the country telling them to report to a plantation "to pick cotton".
Black Americans, including school and college students, were among the recipients in states including Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania.
“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,” the agency said.
The messages appear to have started on Wednesday, the day...
A federal investigation is under way after racist text messages were sent to Black people all across the country—including some in Illinois.
There were a number of variations of the messages using similar language, telling the recipient they had been "selected for cotton picking" or to become "a slave." All of the texts included instructions, times and dates to "be ready" and references to being picked up in a van. Some included the recipient's name or general location, according to people who received the texts and screenshots reviewed by CBS News.
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AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies.
The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording.
Some instructed the recipient to show up at an address at a particular time “with your belongings,” while others didn’t include a location. Some of them mentioned the incoming...
