Local police, Attorney General Letitia James and the FBI are trying to track down who is sending racist and offensive text messages in the Hudson Valley.

Wilbur Aldridge says he has seen a lot during his time leading the NAACP in the Hudson Valley, but says these text messages are a first.

"When you send a text message that says 'Hello, you have been chosen to be a slave for the United States of America,' that is very frightening," says Aldridge.

The wording of these text messages vary. One text reads in part, "you have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation."

Aldridge says so far, at least six people in and around Nyack have gotten them from an unknown number that isn't local. Some of those include middle and high school students within the Nyack Public Schools.

Aldridge says the people who received these texts have all been African American.

"It's unfortunate but more than that, it's disgusting," says Aldridge.

The messages aren't exclusive to Nyack. They have been popping up around the country over the last two days.

"That's really insane, I am kind of shocked and baffled at the same time," says West Haverstraw resident Jessica Noble.

"It's terrible, it shouldn't be, it shouldn't happen," says Haverstraw resident Felix Vargas.

Clarkstown police are looking into it, so is the Attorney General James and the FBI.

The NAACP is not giving up in its search to track down who is doing this, how it is finding its victims and why it is sending these messages.

"We will deal with every incident that comes up, we will deal with it with a venom that no one has seen before, we are not going to tolerate it," says Aldridge.

If you get one of these texts, you are urged to report it to local police or the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau at 800-771-7755. You can also email them at civil.rights@ag.ny.gov.

“The racist text messages targeting New Yorkers, including middle school, high school, and college students, are disgusting and unacceptable. I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families. I encourage anyone in New York who has received an anonymous, threatening text message to report it to my office," says James.

Leaders with the Nyack Public Schools say their counselors are on hand and ready to help students who are hurting or feel threatened by these messages.

The full statement from the school district:

"Dear Parents and Staff Members of Nyack Public Schools,

We were made aware this morning of explicitly racist text messages that were sent to some of our students, consistent in wording with social media messaging and that have appeared in several states following Election Day results. These text messages were sent specifically to Black and Brown students from our middle and high school. While there are slight variations in the wording, these texts are horrific and explicitly racist, specifically threatening “to make students slaves, take them to plantations to pick cotton or that they will be deported to Africa.” We want to reiterate that these messages are not from our community and have been active in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Virginia among students in K-12 schools as well as colleges. Adults have also received the texts.

We are working with the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department and local law enforcement who have enacted an investigation. We have reached out to local law enforcement, Rockland County elected officials who represent our school community, Rockland BOCES who have activated communications with superintendents county-wide, and the NAACP of Nyack to help create a strong and cohesive response. We know we must work together to respond to hatred and uplift our students. Our Administrators and School Counselors are ready to wrap support around our students who are hurting and feeling threatened.

In such a time as this, we ask our school community to continue in partnership with us as we remain vigilant in our commitment to keeping our children safe with a sense of belonging and value that is their right. Please talk with your children about the insidious nature of hate and racist messaging. We encourage you to speak directly against racist content that is targeting children of color in our community. We ask you to check your child’s phone and be in communication with us if you find information or messaging of concern.

In Nyack Public Schools, we reaffirm without equivocation our responsibility to confront both individual acts of racism, hatred and systemic racism as it occurs within our own community and across our nation. Our School Board of Education, Administration and Leadership Team stand resolutely against all acts of racism and in solidarity with Black and Brown students, administrators, faculty, staff and families in our community. We urge each and every one of you in this beloved community to reaffirm one another in the work that we do with children, families and each other, each day.

In the coming days, we pledge to be more bold, brave and racially literate in our work towards becoming a stronger multicultural, antiracist, equity-driven school community. As we continue our work inside and outside the classroom, let us stay in communication with each other."