According to the New Paltz Police Department (NPPD), students in the New Paltz Central School District received racist text messages invoking slavery similar to those sent to black men women, and students across the country.
In a November 19 departmental press release, NPPD chief Matthew Sutton decried the “disgusting rhetoric” in the text messages.
“As chief of police, but especially as a parent, the safety and wellbeing of our children is extremely important to me,” Sutton said. “These hateful messages were sent to instill fear in these children and in their families. This kind of disgusting rhetoric has no place in our country, nor our community. I encourage anyone with information to please come forward so the matter can be investigated to the utmost extent.”
According to the press release, the content of the messages have varied, but all use “offensive and racist language” referencing slavery. According to a November 10 AP report, some of the texts instructed recipients to report to a plantation, others to a specific address at a particular time “with your belongings.” Some referenced the incoming presidential administration. According to the AP, messages were sent anonymously in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The AP report indicated that at the national level, an investigation is underway involving the Justice Department, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Locally, New Paltz police and the New Paltz Central School District are asking student victims or their parents or guardians to file a report.
“The New Paltz Police Department is also working with the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office to determine what type of enforcement action can take place,” reads the NPPD press release.
As of press time it is unclear how many texts were received locally, or indeed around the country. In Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, around six middle school students received messages.
“The racist nature of these text messages is extremely disturbing, made even more so by the fact that children have been targeted,” said Megan Shafer, acting superintendent of the Lower Merion School District in a letter to parents.
In a statement, NAACP president and CEO Derrick 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. And we refuse to let them be normalized.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) first reported on the messages on Thursday, November 7, saying young black people in Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere, had received “an abhorrent, racist text” one day earlier.
“The text sent to young black people, including students at Alabama State University and the University of Alabama, is a public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history. Hate speech has no place in the south or in our nation,” said Margaret Huang, SPLC president and CEO. “Leaders at all levels must condemn anti-black racism, in any form, whenever we see it — and we must follow our words with actions that advance racial justice and build an inclusive democracy where every person feels safe and welcome in their community.”
When asked for a comment, New Paltz school superintendent Stephen Gatto said, “It is true.”
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