Tasha Dunham’s 16-year-old daughter was getting ready for basketball practice in Lodi, California on Wednesday afternoon when a notification popped up on her phone.
“Greetings, you have been selected to be a house slave at the high point Plantation Be ready November 7th at 8pm sharp,” the text read. It included an address to a museum in North Carolina.
“Our executive slaves will be there to get you in a brown van, be prepared to be searched down once you’ve entered the plantation,” the message continued.
“I was very disturbed, very upset,” Dunham told The Independent. The text included the 16-year-old’s first name, which The Independent has removed to protect her privacy.
Dunham and her daughter aren’t alone.
All across the country this week, Black people are receiving racist text messages demanding they show up at “plantations,” where they’ll be enslaved.
“I definitely had a high level of fear and anger and awareness around it, because obviously, you’re talking about slavery,” Dunham told The Independent.
“It is something that has obviously impacted our life and our family and our culture for generations before us,” she continued. “So it’s not something that I was just dismissing as a prank.”
Dunham told The Independent she contacted her local law enforcement office on Thursday. After making a report, an officer passed along resources for her and her daughter.
“They provided me resources that they would give victims of a hate crime to follow up on…to speak with someone about what we have experienced,” Dunham said.
The Lodi Police Department confirmed to The Independent they are investigating Dunham’s case as a hate crime.
People have reported receiving these texts in Alabama, California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington DC and elsewhere in the last two days.
While the texts differ slightly by location, they often include the recipient’s name and reference plantations and slavery.
“Good afternoon Renee,” one text reported in Detroit reads. “You have been chosen to pick cotton at your nearest plantation. Be ready at 10am with all your personal items & possessions because you will never see them again.”
Several state and federal agencies, including the FBI, Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission, are investigating these racist messages.
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, condemned the texts in a statement shared Friday afternoon.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a President who, historically has embraced, and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” Johnson said.
“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.”
“These actions are not normal,” he added. “And we refuse to let them be normalized."
Dunham also told The Independent she thinks these texts may be related to the election, given her daughter received the text just hours after Donald Trump secured a second term in the White House.
“I don’t think that the timing was a coincidence that it was the day that President Trump was announced as the next president of our country,” Dunham said. “So I think part of the motivation was just fear-mongering, and that’s something that is being spread in our country right now.”
“So I’ve been doing my best to not spread fear around it, but more so just have it so people have a heightened awareness about what’s happening,” Dunham added.
