Students who attend St. Paul Public Schools are among those who received texts containing hate speech this week, according to district officials.

The district released a statement Friday on the matter:

“SPPS is deeply saddened and disgusted by these messages and the harm they have caused to the students who were unfortunate enough to receive them,” the statement read. “Hate speech has no place in our schools or our communities.”

In a message to principals, the district noted that the incidents have been shared with the St. Paul Police Department and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

“If any of your students receive texts involving hate speech, please reach out to the ECC immediately, and support the student at the school level,” the message read. District officials are “fully investigating this situation, and would like to reiterate that no form of hate speech will be tolerated within Saint Paul Public Schools. We will not allow anyone to disrespect a student or staff member. We stand with all of our students and staff who are so vital to our school community.”

Racist messages reported in other states

Multiple federal, state and local authorities were investigating the racist text messages sent to Black college and high school students in multiple states this week, which included messages about being “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that his office had reports of the text messages received by Minnesotans.

“The text messages that have been shared with my office are disturbing, threatening, and have no place in our society,” the statement said. “My mission is to ensure every Minnesotan can live with dignity, safety, and respect, and I have no tolerance whatsoever for harassment and hate. I strongly encourage any Minnesotan who received one of these messages to file a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office using our online form.”

Officials with the state Department of Education said they did not know how widespread the incidents were in Minnesota but was offering “resources to schools looking to support their students, families and staff.”

Macalester College officials, in a statement to staff and students, said they had not had any reports from their campus. They offered a community space for Black students, staff and faculty at noon Friday as well as other resources.

‘Instantly got angry and upset’

Tawonda Burks woke up Thursday morning to a text message she received overnight. It came from a Twin Cities number, she said, included her full name, and was overtly vile.

“I instantly got angry and upset,” she said. “I’m just still trying to comprehend, like, did somebody really send this message out to me? Who and why and for what reason?

Burks, who recently ran for office, wondered if she was individually targeted.

“That was my first thought, due to the campaign, who knows, right? But then I realized when I shared it on social media, seeing other people post it, I’m like, ‘OK, so this went out to other people, too.’ ”

Through the day, she saw more and more social media posts about similar messages others had received nationwide.

After receiving the text, she reported it to the Rochester branch of the NAACP. Burks said the timing of the text messages, one day after the election, was disturbing. She ran for the Olmsted County Board but lost the race Tuesday.

“I’m still kind of taking it in, but the one thing I will say is that I am proud of who I am, as an individual, as a Black person, and as a woman. I was always raised to have what I would call thick skin — meaning I can hear something, it’s in one ear out the other, and not really let it get too personal. But I do feel like it’s enough, right? It’s just too much,” she said.

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