A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Investigations are now underway around the country into racist text messages sent to Black people, including college and high school students, over the past couple of days. It's not clear who or what is behind the texts which reference slavery. NPR's Debbie Elliott has been looking into this. Debbie, so what's showing up on people's phones?
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Well, these were very offensive and disturbing, and I guess we should be clear with our listeners about that in case they might want to tune out for a bit rather than hear about it. The messages all share a similar theme, telling recipients that they've been selected for some sort of indentured servitude to pick cotton at the nearest plantation, for instance, or to be a, quote, "house slave." And then instructions about being picked up in a van or maybe picked up by an, quote, "executive slave." They've been targeted primarily at young Black people, from what we're hearing. Many of them on high school, even middle school campuses and then college students.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow. Pretty vile all the...
ELLIOTT: Yes.
MARTÍNEZ: ...Way around. When were these messages sent?
ELLIOTT: You know, they started going out Wednesday and then more on Thursday. They're coming from phone numbers that appear to be local to the recipients' area code, but they don't identify who's behind it, and they actually name the recipients in some cases. I tried to call a few of those numbers, but each time, I got a recording that the number I was trying to reach was no longer in service. So really, there are more questions than answers at this point.
MARTÍNEZ: So what's been the reaction of this? I can imagine people are not happy.
ELLIOTT: Well, understandably. You know, I think students, in particular, are frightened, like...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
ELLIOTT: ...Who got my number, and why are they sending me this threatening text? And, of course, parents are irate. The 17-year-old high school son of St. Louis' mayor, Tishaura Jones, got one of these texts Wednesday night while the two of them were watching television. His classmates also got some of these, and she is just furious about it.
TISHAURA JONES: These are some sick, twisted individuals to target children like this, and I hope that they are found and prosecuted.
ELLIOTT: Her father, the student's grandfather, Virvus Jones, who lived through Jim Crow, says this is no joking matter to hearken back to something as horrible as slavery. It's not lost on him the timing of these texts coming a day after a contentious and dark election.
VIRVUS JONES: What it says about this country is that there are a lot of people who would like to take us back to some form of slavery or some form of being subservient to white supremists. That's what it says to me.
MARTÍNEZ: So, Debbie, I mean, the texts are already sent, but can anything be done about them now?
ELLIOTT: Well, it's certainly got campuses on alert, some even offering counseling for students, and authorities at every level are launching investigations all around the country. Civil rights groups have been encouraging people to report the threatening texts to police and the FBI. I spoke with Margaret Huang, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.
MARGARET HUANG: The key is we need to know how many people have received this and what the scale and scope of this effort is. And to do that, we need people to take it seriously and let us know.
ELLIOTT: She says they're working to track down the origin of the texts and are sharing what they find with federal officials. It's not clear at all whether these messages are originating from the U.S. or maybe from abroad. The FBI says it's aware of the offensive and racist text messages and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal officials on the matter. And then a number of state attorneys generals say they, too, have opened investigations.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, that's NPR's Debbie Elliott. Debbie, thanks.
ELLIOTT: You're welcome.
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