The incident involving mass texts sent to Black Americans nationwide, telling them they had been “selected to pick cotton following Donald Trump’s re-election as president, has drawn widespread condemnation.
These texts, which referenced historical plantations and included threats of being transported by executive slaves in a brown van to various plantations, left many recipients feeling disrespected and fearful. The texts were reportedly tied to the Stagville Plantation, once one of the largest slave-holding plantations in North Carolina, where descendants of those enslaved also expressed their outrage.
Beverly Evans, a 76-year-old descendant of the Stagville enslaved, voiced her disgust, while others, like Ricky Hart, emphasized their refusal to be intimidated by such tactics.
Local authorities and the North Carolina Department of Historic Sites condemned the act, calling it a deliberate attempt to spread fear and division. The state agency committed to collaborating with law enforcement to investigate the origin of the messages.
The incident sparked a strong response from civil rights organizations like the NAACP, which denounced the messages as part of a larger pattern of increasing racist rhetoric. Federal agencies have launched an investigation, including cyber and counterintelligence units, to trace the origin of the messages. The wireless industry has also intervened, blocking the numbers responsible and advising recipients to report the texts.
While the origin of the texts remains unclear, the incident has raised concerns about the ongoing state of race relations in the country, particularly in light of the election results and the emboldening of hate groups. The Trump campaign has also condemned the messages and pledged to take legal action against those responsible.
