--- title: "Black People Across the Country Are Getting Racist Text Messages Saying They’re Going to Be Enslaved" description: "Across the United States, Black Americans are getting horrible text messages telling them that they're going to be enslaved." date: "2024-11-09" modified: "2024-11-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/racist-text-messages-slavery" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "racism" - "slavery" - "texting" - "the digest" --- # Black People Across the Country Are Getting Racist Text Messages Saying They’re Going to Be Enslaved ![Across the United States, Black Americans are getting horrible text messages telling them that they're going to be enslaved.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Harmful Prank Across the United States, Black Americans are getting horrible text messages telling them that they're going to be enslaved under Donald Trump's second presidency. As [*CBS News* reports](), people in states as politically and demographically diverse as New York, Ohio, California, Alabama, and Pennsylvania have reported these horrible anonymous texts to authorities. As a result, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Federal Communications Commission, and at least one state attorney general, [are investigating the matter](). The nature of the texts vary slightly according to location, but all seem to [adhere to a specific script]() telling Black recipients that they had been "selected for cotton picking" and should pack up their things to head to "the plantation." Though not all texts include references to the president-elect, many seem to. In its investigation, *CBS* found that area codes from 25 different states had been used to send these vile missives sent to people as young as middle school age. When contacted, many of the numbers had been disconnected, while others went to voicemail boxes saying they'd been created [using TextNow](), an app that allows people to create phone numbers for free. After learning its service had been used to send these messages, TextNow said in a statement to *CBS* that it had shut down the offending accounts and would be working with authorities to make sure they don't sign up again in the future. https://www.twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1854688325820375413 ## Fear and Loathing In an interview with the broadcaster, a 29-year-old Atlanta woman said that both she and a friend in North Carolina had received similar messages earlier this week. "I knew it was a prank, but to see that so early after the election I was shook," the woman said. "Just made me be more cautious of my surroundings and where I go." Reporters at *CBS* also managed to get in touch with one person who'd sent a version of the messages as well. That individual said that they'd sent the texts as a prank before abruptly ending the call and rejecting all other attempts at contact. That exchange seems very much to indicate the mindset behind these disgusting dispatches, showcasing not just the cowardice of hiding behind an anonymously-created phone number, but also an unwillingness to discuss outright the hatred that's [clearly bubbled back up]() to the surface. **More on bigotry:** [*Elon Musk's Mother Attacks Reporter for Being Vietnamese*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()