The texts instructed recipients to “board a bus” that would transport them to a “plantation” to work as slaves, officials said.

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.

Officials and universities in a growing number of U.S. states are condemning racist text messages that were sent to Black residents this week. The messages, which began appearing Wednesday, were received by people in at least 20 states and the District of Columbia,

The FBI said it's investigating racist text messages sent around the country, and all the recipients were Black, according to reports.

Racist text messages were sent to scores of Black people the day after the election telling them they had been “selected” to pick cotton “at the nearest plantation.”