A rash of racist text messages seemingly targeting Black students have gone out nationwide in the days surrounding the presidential election.
Some students at Fisk University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Metro Nashville Public Schools received the messages, according to school officials. The messages, which vary in language, all appear to carry the same core message: That someone is coming to pick up Black people to take them to work as slaves and pick cotton at a nearby plantation.
The texts appear to be part of a "spoofing" operation, which masks the real identity of senders to send out spam messages. The threats do not appear to be credible, according to a statement by Fisk University, which is a private, historically Black university near downtown Nashville.
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Brooke Reese said the messages are coming from a third party messaging application. Detectives from the department's specialized investigations unit are working with law enforcement in other jurisdictions to find out where the texts originated.
Some students at Fisk University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Metro Nashville Public Schools received the messages, according to school officials. The messages, which vary in language, all appear to carry the same core message: That someone is coming to pick up Black people to take them to work as slaves and pick cotton at a nearby plantation.
The texts appear to be part of a "spoofing" operation, which masks the real identity of senders to send out spam messages. The threats do not appear to be credible, according to a statement by Fisk University, which is a private, historically Black university near downtown Nashville.
Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Brooke Reese said the messages are coming from a third party messaging application. Detectives from the department's specialized investigations unit are working with law enforcement in other jurisdictions to find out where the texts originated.