Racist text messages, telling Black people to pick cotton on plantations, were sent to Black Americans in more than twenty states, including Ohio, New York, California and Alabama.
One such message was sent to a University of Cincinnati student and shared on the Cincinnati subreddit.
Using the student’s name — which was redacted in the Reddit post — the message reads: “You have been selected to be a slave for the year of 2025. You will be picked up from your Turner Hall dorm on December 31st, 2024 at 11:59PM. Do not try to run, we will find you.”
Others claimed recipients had been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” or used a common racial slur before adding, “Now that Trump is president, you have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”
The Ohio Attorney General’s office have said they are aware of the messages, and are investigating them.
Though contacted by CityBeat, the University of Cincinnati’s media relations office have not yet responded to requests for comment.
The texts appear to be an example of a common online scam known as “spoofing.” According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), spoofing “is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity.” Scammers can do this by using the number of a government agency or corporation, or the neighbors of their victim, which said victim is more likely to respond to.
The Cincinnati NAACP released a statement on Nov. 8, stating it “vehemently condemns anyone involved with the racist and offensive text messages received by Black and Brown people in our community and around the country. There are provocateurs trying to invoke fear in the community with racial terrorism.”
NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson issued a statement on Nov. 7, saying “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — there is no place for hate in a democracy. 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.”
Johnson also blamed President-elect Donald Trump for the messages, claiming his rhetoric, and that of his supporters, helped create the environment wherein such language could be used.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a President who, historically has embraced, and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” Johnson wrote. “These 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 Cincinnati NAACP’s statement echoed Johnson’s sentiment, writing about the racist text messages “Unfortunately, this is the byproduct of unchecked and reckless rhetoric by someone who
will once again be leading our country.”
“The text sent to young Black people, including students at Alabama State University and the University of Alabama, is a public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Leaders at all levels must condemn anti-Black racism, in any form, whenever we see it — and we must follow our words with actions that advance racial justice and build an inclusive democracy where every person feels safe and welcome in their community.”
The same day, the FBI made their own statement on the messages, writing, “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 FBI’s Cincinnati field office, when asked about racist messages shared on the Cincinnati subreddit, referred to the national FBI’s statement when asked for a response.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in an email to the press that the Trump campaign “ has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages.”
The Trump campaign repeatedly utilized racist language and tropes throughout the 2024 presidential campaign.
Most notably, during the Sept. 10 debate, President-elect Trump said about the Haitian immigrants living in Springfield Ohio: “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” and, “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Despite lawmakers and media figures amplifying the claim, there is no evidence that such incidents ever took place. The trope of foreigners eating wild animals has been used to dehumanize immigrants since at least the 18th century, and one of the originators of the Springfield conspiracy theory was Neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, who, according to reporting from NBC News, celebrated on Gab when Trump mentioned the conspiracy during the debate.
Vice President-elect JD Vance also spread this baseless rumor, writing on X, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” on Sept. 9, a post that was liked over 100,000 times and shared by at least 30,000 users. Bernie Moreno, the new U.S. Senator for Ohio after defeating incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown, similarly shared the allegation, writing on Instagram, “Kamala Harris and Sherrod Brown are responsible for flooding Springfield Ohio with thousands of illegal Haitians who are sucking up social services and even reportedly killing and eating pets.”
More than 30 bomb threats were made to various Springfield institutions, and hate groups — including Blood Tribe and the Klu Klux Klan — converged on the town.
The White House has so far condemned the text messages, with spokesperson Robyn Patterson saying to the New York Times: “We strongly condemn these hateful messages and anyone targeting Americans based on their ethnicity or background.”
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 12, 2024.