Bay Area chapters of the NAACP are denouncing racist text messages sent to Black people across the country the day after the election. The texts varied in their exact wording, but the theme was consistent: telling recipients they'd been "selected" to pick cotton at a plantation.
San Francisco Unified School District confirmed that students and young people in San Francisco were among those who received the texts. Now, the district is partnering with the city and community leaders to ensure students feel safe and supported.
"Those texts are so vicious, vile, and violent," said San Francisco civil rights icon Amos Brown, who is also president of the San Francisco Chapter of the NAACP, at a town hall at Third Baptist Church.
Brown said San Francisco students who received the text messages told him they felt unsafe and isolated.
At the town hall, NAACP leaders joined parents, grandparents, educators, and neighbors to share anger and fear over these texts.
Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland NAACP, was in attendance. Adams said she wasn't aware of any similar texts sent to youth in Oakland's education system.
"I’m from a rural area of the South. I didn’t pick cotton. So I know good and well we’re not going to allow our babies to be talking about picking cotton," Adams said.
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The FBI is investigating these text messages, but as of Sunday night, a spokesperson said they had no updates to share.
It is unclear who is behind these text messages and how they obtained the phone numbers.
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A spokesperson for text messaging service TextNow told NBC News in a statement that it is aware of the messages.
"As soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly, shutting down the accounts involved within the hour," TextNow said.
Brown said that in response to San Francisco youth receiving these text messages, San Francisco NAACP is teaming up with the San Francisco Unified School District and the city's Department of Children, Youth and Families to provide support for Black students.
"We are joining together to announce not a meeting but a movement," Brown said.
He added that this joint effort will work to find ways to support Black students in San Francisco, both academically and emotionally, "to make sure that those children know that somebody cares about them and that they are not alone."
He noted that San Francisco's new superintendent Dr. Maria Su plans to attend an upcoming NAACP meeting. Plus, NAACP members and community members plan to attend the SFUSD board meeting on Tuesday to further decry these text messages.
The SFUSD said that anyone who receives one of these text messages should contact local law enforcement or your local FBI field office at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
