Some people have a really disgusting sense of humor. This is a hate crime.
"Federal authorities are looking into disturbing and racist text messages sent from unknown numbers, rather, to Black Americans in at least ten different states in this country," said Gayle King on CBS Morning.
"Now many of the messages which were sent to middle school, high school, and college students, and make reference to slavery. Adriana Diaz has more on this very troubling story."
You have been selected to be a house slave at the plantation. Be ready on Saturday, November 9th, 11:00 a.m. sharp.
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"This was the text message Latasha Nelson's eighth grade daughter Andriend received while at home in Connecticut.
"My daughter showed me, you know, I was like, wait a minute -- I was angry, one. disgusted, two."
"In at least ten states across the nation, CBS News has learned that Black Americans have received messages similar to these. And while varying slightly, many of the messages read 'You have been selected to pick cotton or become a house slave at a plantation.'"
"I felt scared, sad, kind of shaken by it."
"Devereaux Adams lives in Atlanta and is at Western Governors University."
"If this was not during the election, I probably would have laughed it off. It hit me different because of when it happened. and considering that I have multiple friends that got the same message, same exact tone. Some don't know how these people got their first and last name. We know where you live. It's like, whoa, this is an actual threat."
"Black students at several schools and universities have reported receiving the texts, and CBS News has verified that the texts were sent from numbers with area codes from at least 25 different states some through Text Now, which offers free phone numbers.
In a statement, Text Now says it's learned that 'One or more of our accounts may have been used to send text messages in violation of our terms of service,' adding it shut down the accounts as as it became aware.
"Our ancestors died on plantations and lived lives and separated from their children. They didn't say they're coming to get all of us. You're talking about coming to take my child. removing my child from me to bring her back to something that's not legal, never going to happen. and how dare you even send it to her, how dare you even think that that's something that would be funny to anybody?"
"Just horrible. Our CBS Newsfirm team was able to reach one of the people who sent one of those text messages from a Ft. Wayne, Indiana, area code. That person said the message was a prank before abruptly ending the call.
State and local authorities are investigating.
"We still don't know how people got these phone numbers and who's behind this. The student in your package summed up nicely when he said it hits different coming after this election," King said.
"Number one, there's nothing funny about it. It's disgusting and scary that they're being targeted -- I got three different people in three states that said, have you heard about this? This is what's happening. It's very frightening. How do they know the people are black that they're sending it to?"
"We don't know, and that's one of the scariest things, like you said. It has your name," Diaz said.
"Your name, you're black, what city you live in because it says in Atlanta to go to the plantation. It brings up trauma that's passed down generations."
This is truly disgusting and scary. The Trump election has obviously emboldened this, and we can expect more.
