Black and Missing in the United States

Photo Credit: Sigmund (Unsplash)

With the recent and tragic high-profile case of Gabby Petito, there is renewed scrutiny over the lack of similarly dedicated media attention for missing women of color in the United States. Last September, we covered the largely invisible epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) and examined bipartisan U.S. legislation designed to solve those crimes and prevent future incidents of violence against Indigenous women. Now, we are taking a look at the alarming number of missing Black girls and women in the United States.

The numbers don't lie.

Last year, close to 100,000 Black girls and women were declared missing in the United States. Black girls and women comprised 34% of all missing women and girls cases in the U.S. in 2020 despite accounting for only 15% of the U.S.'s total female population. Even with numbers this dramatic, the U.S. media fails to meticulously cover these stories with the same passion or sustained intensity reserved for cases of white girls and women. Some believe that newsrooms decide on which stories to prioritize, influencing how the police and the public respond. With more coverage comes more attention and potentially even more resources.

"Missing white woman syndrome."

At a 2004 convention for journalists of color, Gwen Ifill coined the phrase “missing white woman syndrome" and said, “if there is a missing white woman, you’re going to cover that every day.” What journalists of color had been observing in their newsrooms was proven in a 2016 study by law professor Zach Sommers. He found that "missing white woman syndrome" is evident in media coverage through "(1) disparities in the threshold issue of whether a missing person receives any media attention at all; and (2) disparities in coverage intensity among the missing persons that do appear in the news." As Charles Blow wrote in The New York Times, "It is not that these white women should matter less, but rather that all missing people should matter equally."

It takes a village.
Much like Indigenous communities in North America that have worked together to solve and publicize cases, Black Americans have launched campaigns, like Our Black Girls; podcasts, such as Crime Noir; and foundations that aim to find missing people and prevent further abductions. Sisters-in-law Derrica and Natalie Wilson founded the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc, (BAMFI), "to bring awareness to missing persons of color; provide vital resources and tools to missing person’s families and friends and to educate the minority community on personal safety." On their website, you can report a missing person, search for a missing person, and review critical information about new and unsolved missing persons cases.

Watch Black and Missing on HBO. This four-part documentary series by Geeta Gandbhir and Soledad O’Brien highlights the work of BAMFI founders Derrica and Natalie Wilson as they "fight an uphill battle to bring awareness to the Black missing person cases that are marginalized by law enforcement and national media." The series premieres on November 23 at 8 pm.

Vote for Natalie Wilson, a L'Oréal Women of Worth honoree, to win an additional grant from L'Oréal. Wilson, one of the co-founders of BAMFI, is part of the 2021 L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth class. The award recognizes the achievements of ten non-profit leaders in the U.S. who are "making meaningful change addressing some of society’s most pressing issues." All honorees will receive a $20,000 grant, but L'Oréal permits the public to vote and help them choose the National Honoree, who will be given an additional $25,000 for their cause. You are allowed to vote once per day, per honoree.

Support BAMFI. Your tax-deductible donation, which can be made here, helps the foundation by: "providing financial support for families of the missing, assisting in victim recovery and burial services, and creating educational programs for the minority community on personal safety." And, by following BAMFI on social media (they are on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) you can quickly and easily amplify the urgent cases they are sharing.