KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Several Black students at the University of Tennessee reported getting racist text messages that effectively tell them they have been enslaved. The university is just one of several schools across the U.S. that reported students receiving texts of this style.
NBC-affiliate WSMV reported students at Fisk University also got the text messages. Fisk University is one of Tennessee's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, founded in 1866 and has Democratic Rep. Justin Jones as a professor. He condemned the texts.
The texts vary slightly per person and often name the recipients. Some claim they would work on plantations. Students at schools like Ohio State University, Clemson University and the University of Southern California also said they got the texts.
UT released a statement about the messages, available below.
"Unfortunately, we're not immune from racist messages that have been circulating nationally. We are aware of a few students who have received it."
Some students on campus said they first learned about the messages through social media, and then messages began being sent at their own school.
"It's something that we have to deal with. It doesn't really surprise me. There are traces of racism still around, and I don't know if it will be gone anytime soon," said Logan Frost, a student at UT.
Authorities were still investigating how the messages were being sent, and how phone numbers were being obtained. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was aware of the messages and was in contact with the United States Justice Department and other federal authorities.
"It's a little disappointing that's so open because for them to just randomly text and call people and say those sort of things it's just unacceptable," said Dylan Woods, a student at UT
Jones also released a statement about the messages, available below.
“These text messages are an early and disturbing warning of what has been normalized and unleashed with the start of another Trump presidency. As Tennessee’s youngest Black lawmaker I condemn these messages and the targeting of Black students that draws painful parallels to political rhetoric we have heard this election season. As an alumni and educator at Fisk I am horrified that my students are experiencing this, but Fisk has stood the test of time against white vigilantism that has threatened to harm students since the school’s inception, and I know that students will not be intimidated by this hate speech. Our history has taught us what to do in moments such as this: stand together and keep pushing forward.”