By Laren Hines
Black college students nationwide are receiving mass racist text messages this week, including students at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky.
While the messages varied in specifics, all of the texts instructed recipients to report to a plantation for “mandatory” slave work. The anonymous texts have been reported in at least 32 states, including Kentucky, among Black people of all ages.
In the wake of the 2024 presidential election, a number of the texts also mentioned campaign slogans and references to President-Elect Donald Trump. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, some texts were signed off with “Sincerely, A TRUMP SUPPORTER.” Others made mention of wanting to “save America,” which is the name of Trump’s political action committee.
While students within Louisville’s Metroversity have not yet been targeted, a number of students further east have reported incidents to UK and EKU police. On Friday, Louisville FBI informed the Courier-Journal that local officials are “aware of offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country, including in Kentucky.”
A separate-yet-similar text wave has also made its way through Jefferson County Public Schools, according to Southern High School Principal Sariena Sampson. Recipients were informed that, as a result of the “47th President of the United States’ Command,” they would be searched and deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.).
Sampson sent an email to Southern High School staff regarding the cyber-harassment: “We are concerned about students and their families calling and unknowingly self-reporting and ending up on some sort of list, as we don’t know who the culprits behind these texts are. It is my primary goal that our students feel safe, welcome and that they have a sense of belonging here at Southern High School. Please do everything you can to make that true for our students.”
Federal and state authorities are narrowing their ongoing investigation into the messages’ sources.
