Nationwide — Over the years, a disturbingly disproportionate number of Black women and girls across the United States have gone missing. What’s even more alarming is that the media coverage and legislation that missing Black girls are getting seems to be lacking compared to missing white girls.
According to reports, when Black girls go missing, it’s often unclear whether they have run away from home, were inflicted violence, abducted, sent into the sex industry, among others. Basically, their safety and assurance to be brought back home was commonly ignored and not an utmost concern.
As of 2014, about 64,000 Black women and girls were missing across the U.S. However, most of those do not receive enough media attention and public support to be found.
In efforts to address the problem of missing Black children nationwide, Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robin Kelly, and Yvette D. Clarke initiated the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls in 2016. Through the caucus, they hope to create public policies that “eliminate significant barriers and disparities experienced by black women.”
Members of the caucus believe that more federal assistance and collaboration is needed to further eliminate the problem.
“I feel like knocking on every attic, every garage to see where those girls are,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said. “Let’s be an example to the world that we can’t rest until these girls are found.”
Meanwhile, the Black community and organizations utilize social media networks to bring back missing Black girls. Using the hashtag #BlackGirlsMissing, many young women have returned home safely despite the usually limited support from police and minimal reporting from media.
Black and Missing But Not Forgotten is a great non-profit organization focused on spotlighting and finding missing African Americans.