'This is traumatic:' Racist text messages targeting Black SF students prompts town hall
Town hall held on racist text messages targeting Black SF students
The president of the San Francisco NAACP held a town hall on Sunday to speak out against a series of racist text messages received by students in the school district. Similar texts were also received by Black men, women and students in other parts of the country, and are being investigated by the FBI.
SAN FRANCISCO - The president of the San Francisco NAACP held a town hall on Sunday to speak out against a series of racist text messages received by students in the school district.
Similar texts were also received by Black men, women and students in other parts of the country, and are being investigated by the FBI.
"They feel in isolation. They feel scared. They’re afraid. They have every right to be afraid," said Rev. Amos Brown, president of the San Francisco Chapter of the NAACP. "This is traumatic. It’s trauma on their psyche, and they are fearful that they will receive bodily harm."
The messages have also been reported in New York, Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee following Tuesday's presidential election.
They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording.
Some instructed the recipient to show up at an address at a particular time "with your belongings" to "pick cotton," while others didn’t include a location.
Some of them mentioned the incoming presidential administration. The Trump campaign has strongly denied any connection to the messages.
In a letter to the San Francisco Unified School District community, the district said in part:
"We are writing to condemn the racist text messages from unknown sources that are being sent to members of the African American community nationwide. This includes SFUSD students and young people in San Francisco. San Francisco is a beacon for diversity and inclusion, and we will not tolerate hate in our city."
The San Francisco Board of Education is scheduled to hold a meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Reverend Brown encouraged the community to attend and speak out about the messages.