Black Minnesota middle school students are receiving racist text messages referencing plantations and slavery. Its part of a nationwide trend.

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

The messages followed the same general script, summoning the recipient to pick cotton on a plantation and assigning a time to be picked up by slave handlers.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Albert Carvalho on Saturday condemned racist text messages being sent to Black Americans across the country and said some of the messages were sent to students in the district.

Federal authorities are looking into the source of racist mass text messages sent to Black people – including children – across America this week.

At least two Fort Collins girls and some Denver residents received text messages that included recipients’ names and ordered them to “pick cotton.”