Black Coloradans react to receiving racist text messages as part of nationwide wave
Denver resident Jirah Lawrence says she was stunned to look at her phone Wednesday night and see the text message that popped up on her screen.
"Initially I was like, 'is this a joke, what's going on?'" Lawrence said. "And then when I heard other folks across the country were getting it, I was like, 'oh okay, that's ridiculous.'"
Lawrence and dozens of other Black people across the U.S. received a similar message on their phones in the days after the election. The message tells the recipient they have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation, to be ready by a certain time to be taken in a van and that they will undergo an intense search upon arrival.
"Then I kind of start freaking out a little bit because I do live alone, and I was just like, 'Okay, do I have to question my safety?'" Lawrence asked herself.
"First it started with my nephew," said Rev. Anthony Grier, senior pastor with True Spirit Baptist Church in Colorado Springs.
Grier says his nephew in Illinois and three other young people in Grier's congregation all received that same text message.
"It's a little overwhelming to know that people still think like this," said Grier.
The Denver Police Department, FBI and several other law enforcement agencies are actively investigating these racist text messages. Police officials say their bias-motivated crimes unit is already looking into two incidents.
"I'm not sure what the motive is. Maybe it's to just ruffle some feathers, or just to make a statement," Lawrence said. "I have no clue."
Last week, other communities in the state also responded to these concerning messages.
The Poudre School District told families on Friday some of their students also received the disturbing text message and said anyone who receives one should report it to the FBI.
"I think more people were concerned about the youth- the young adults who received this message and how are they responding and how is this impacting them daily," said Omar Montgomery, president of the Aurora NAACP.
Montgomery says he's been fielding questions and concerns from residents but hopes this kind of racist behavior can be used as a lesson.
"How do we hit the reset button?" he asked. "How do we work together to make this world a better place, make our communities better so our kids will not have to be traumatized through a text message like that?"
Grier, the pastor, hopes whoever is behind these messages will be held accountable
"Color is not the way we engage," he said. "We all are people. We all got feelings. We got a heart, and we all got blood."
