Transcript of FBI investigating racist texts sent to people around the country

Corinne Freeman was at home with her kids on Wednesday when she got a text from a number she didn't recognize.

It was this odd, ominous feeling text message basically saying, Hello, you've been selected to be a slave on a plantation, and you're scheduled to get picked up at 12:00 AM on November 13th.

How did it feel when you got that text message?

Well, I was immediately disturbed.

She's not alone. Social media sites have been flooded with people from New York to Florida who say they've gotten these racist messages. Freeman and others believe the text may have been sparked by the current political climate.

I think that this is intentional to scare people of color, Black people, into a reality that we don't want to go back to.

The wording of the text appear to differ. Some have misspellings, others address individuals by name. But the theme is consistent, telling recipients they've been selected to pick cotton. All of the people CNBC News spoke to who got these messages are black. Several universities confirmed their students have reported receiving the text. Clemson says they came from numbers associated with online spoofing sites. It remains unclear who is behind the messages. But tonight, Text Now, which offers free phone numbers online, tells MBC News at least one of its accounts may be involved, writing in a statement in part, We do not tolerate or condone the use of our service to send harassing or spam messages, adding, They shut down the accounts and are working with authorities. For recipients, like Corinne Freeman, the digital hate is fueling her real-world concerns.

I am overwhelmed with anxiety and fear about how I'm going to help my children make sense of the world that they have to navigate as Black children Zinclé Asamwa, NBC News.

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