Racism and Hate Are Alive in Minnesota – Here’s The Latest

Imagine hearing the sound of a text message, opening your phone to read the message and seeing the words below:

Greetings Mrs. Tawonda Burks

You have been selected to pick cutton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12PM SHARP with your belongings. Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Brown Van, be prepared to be searched down once you've enter the plantation.

You are in Plantation Group S

 

First, I hope you gasped and got angry when you read those words.

Second, I hope you know who Tawonda is.

That text message was sent to Tawonda Burks who just ran for Olmsted County Commissioner in Minnesota.  She's also an author, owner and publisher of Rochester Women magazine, founder and owner of Elonica, LLC, board member for several organizations, and has served as the Director of Operations at the Rochester Area Economic Development.  And that is just a glimpse at how she is helping others around her.  She is fierce and amazing.

That text message is hate.

If you have never had a visual of racism, now you have.

Racist Text Message Targeted Black Individuals in Minnesota After The Election

And that's not the only text message sent to individuals in Minnesota who are Black.  The NAACP Rochester Branch MN Facebook page shared a few others that showed up on phones after the election.

Racist Text Messages Also Targeted Black Teenagers and College Students After The Election

According to USAToday, many others in the United States received similar messages including students at Clemson University, Ohio State, and the University of Alabama.  Even teenagers received the messages.

NAACP Branch in Rochester, Minnesota Responds:  We Are Done Dying

I saw someone mention that the words above are bullying to the max.  I will correct that statement and let you know that this is not bullying, this is hate, racist, and done with intention.  Someone worked to figure out these specific phone numbers and sent these messages with a purpose.

How do you respond to something so rich in hate?  NAACP Branch in Rochester responded with the following:

We are done dying. Just a day after the presidential election, individuals and groups are feeling emboldened to reach out to Black community members in Rochester with messages of hate, fear, and intimidation. Here is an example that targeted Ms.Tawonda Burks and others. We will hold people accountable that target our local Black and brown communities with racism and hate, and have strategies in place to do just that. #WeAreDoneDying
1. Not in our town will children feel unsafe.

2. Not in our town will racism be permitted.

3. Not in our town will hatred find a home.

4. Not in our town will anti-Semitism and Islamophobia be tolerated.
5. In our town, we stand with our Black, Brown, and marginalized community members.
6. In our town, “Love Wins.”

 

- NAACP Rochester Branch MN on Facebook

 

Wale Elegbede, President of the Rochester Branch of the NAACP Reflects On The Election Outcome

As the text messages above were written and being sent to Black individuals in Minnesota and throughout the United States, the following reflection was also written and posted by Wale Elegbede who serves as the President of the Rochester Branch of the NAACP.

1. We will continue to fight to create a better society for all—one where Black, underrepresented, and marginalized communities, and our children, can be safe and thrive.
2. For democracy to function, we must respect the current will of the majority, which shifts over time, through the peaceful transfer of power. This is the essence of democracy.
3.Despite being a convicted felon, a convicted rapist, and displaying clear racism, hateful rhetoric, and misogyny, Donald Trump was still overwhelmingly voted in by people—many of whom are neighbors, coworkers, and people we know—who align with, or at least accept these aspects of his person and leadership. This moment demands deep reflection.
I am reminded of William Cowper’s words from 1788:

 

I own I am shocked at the purchase of slaves,

And fear those who buy them and sell them are knaves;

What I hear of their hardships, their tortures, and groans

Is almost enough to draw pity from stones.

I pity them greatly, but I must be mum,

For how could we do without sugar and rum?

 

We have work to do....

Minnesota Attorney General Asking All Minnesotans to Report These Text Messages If They Were Received

According to MPR.org, Minnesota's Attorney General received several reports of racist text messages like the ones shown above.  Based on the statement provided, there is "no tolerance whatsoever for harassment and hate" and all Minnesotans who received these text messages should use the online form here to file a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office.

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Is The United States Really Moving Forward to Be a Better Nation?

If the United States of America was really moving forward, to be a better nation, those text messages would have also been sent to me...a white woman.

Whoever you are that is hiding behind the screen, you obviously know how to find phone numbers.  Add me to that list.  I'm already talking to the Attorney General.  I'd be happy to discuss this with him as well and bring you into that conversation.

Oh wait, you probably won't because I'm not Black.