Federal and state authorities are working to find the origins of racist text messages sent to Black people across the country threatening them with slavery and telling them they were “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.

Black people in states including Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania reported receiving the text messages. The messages started arriving in recent days, w

It points to a well-organized and resourced group that has decided to target Americans on our home soil based on the color of our skin,” an NAACP leader said.