Image is from: https://www.blackandmissinginc.com/still-missing-black-women-and-girls-who-havent-come-home-yet/
The image above is just a drop in the bucket for the countless of missing "Black" lives that are unaccounted for as a result of abduction and kidnapping. Though "Blacks" are said to make up only 13% of the population, roughly 40% of missing persons are "Black". So what is happening to our loved ones that disappear and are never to be seen nor heard from again?
Well, there are a few speculations on that including the slave trade as well as organ harvesting. Despite the overall negative stigma placed on "Black" people, we seem to be in high demand of our bodies, right down to our nonduplicating melanin. Jealousy will lead one to hate the very thing that they desire to be but are unable to achieve. Hatred, however, will lead one to unthinkable wickedness to the average "godlike" individuals.
Now, the Amber Alert was first initiated in 1996 by the Dallas Fort Worth broadcasters teaming up with local police to launch this abduction alert for missing children. AMBER stands for America's Missing" Broadcast Emergency Response. It was created when a nine-year-old ny the name of Amber Hagerman was kidnapped while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas.
In April 2023, California Senator Steven Bradford introduced Senate Bill 673, known as "The Ebony Alert" which mirrors the "Amber Alert", with the exception that it is solely focused on recovering missing "Black" children verses ALL children that are missing. While the senator has expressed that the bill points out the blatant oversight and severity of missing "Black" individuals, it should make you ponder why there needs to be a distinction when it comes to anyone missing.
The California senator did express that this push came from the recognition that missing "Black" woman and youth are often dismissed with a grand suggestion that the missing person is simply a runaway or a troubled individual and is therefore dismissed as a time sensitive priority to recover these individuals.
Would this not indeed suggest that the value of "Black" life is once again viewed in a lower standard in comparison to other race/ethnic groups and if so, why?
Below are two links that dive deeper into this conversation. Click on these links to learn a little more.
1. "Our Black Girls: article by NPR
2. PBS Missing Black Women Documentary
Here are a few solutions to keeping yourself and your loved ones safe from abduction:
1. Talk to your children about the importance and the reality of strangers and child abductors.
2. Pay attention to your surroundings (rather day or night).
3. Go out (and leave) in groups when out in public settings.
4. Utilize tracking devises for yourself and your children by way of phone tracking or clothing attachments (tap in to learn more on this).
5. Find out what resources you have in your community to keep your children safe and engaged.
6. Report abuse-like behaviors from a partner immediately after a situation to have a criminal claim.
7. Be aware of who your children are hanging out with and engaging with, including real names (not aliases), addresses, and parent's contact information.
8. Do not except anything from strangers (it may be laced with a contact sedative).
9. Learn for yourself and teach your children self-defense tactics.
What other suggestions can you share to keep our community safe? Express your thoughts in the comment section.