ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Racist text and email messages have been sent out nationwide to Black Americans, including to St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and her son.
On Thursday, Jones' son received an anonymous text saying, "You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 1 p.m. SHARP with your belongings." some of the texts are signed "a Trump Supporter." others reference the KKK.
On Friday morning, Mayor Jones posted an update on her Facebook account saying she has received similar messages to her public and personal email addresses, including getting a email that used the n-word twice and said she was in plantation group A.
"I'm furious that someone thought it was OK to send messages like that to children, or anyone else. I happened to be with my son when he got it, and I'd seen it before, so I was ready to talk to him and tell him that it was a cruel hoax." said Mayor Jones in a statement. "It is completely unacceptable that anyone should have to deal with being referred to as property or less than any other human being, especially in a society where Black and Brown people have always been treated as second-class citizens, if we've been treated as citizens at all."
It follows a national trend that has seen similar anonymous messages being sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers in other states such as New York, California, Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania and more.
Similar incidents have occurred at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Missouri State University. The details are unknown as to what was in the messages, but it follows a general theme saying the recipient has been chosen to be enslaved and assigned to pick cotton on a plantation.
The president of the Missouri state conference of the NAACP calls it terrorism and well-organized.
MU says there is no indication of a credible threat to the safety of members of the university community. Missouri State University in Springfield tells KMOX-partner Missourinet that the senders of the messages will face disciplinary action.
