The Number of Missing Black Women Across the U.S. Is Astounding
A renewed campaign to highlight hundreds of missing African-American women has been launched amid ongoing criticism that less attention is given to their cases by authorities and the media.
According to the National Crime Information Center, nearly 40 per cent of those who have disappeared, often in suspicious circumstances, are black. However critics allege that public attention mainly focuses on white women who have vanished.
According to the Black And Missing Foundation, most women disappear in the states of New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and Florida.
A total of 273,985 minorities were reported missing in the United States (out of 692,944 for all races) as of December 2010.
The foundation has teamed up with a TV network to make a series, Find Our Missing, telling the stories behind the women’s disappearances.
The non-profit organization was formed in 2008 to draw attention to cases and keep pressure on authorities when leads and information dry up.
The Black And Missing Foundation told MailOnline there are a number of reasons as to why the cases of missing black women are largely forgotten.
Firstly, the organisation points out that there is often a lack of diversity in newsrooms meaning the African-American community is not properly reflected in coverage.
Another key reason is that missing persons from a lower economic status are often associated with some sort of criminal activity.
Behind the hundreds of cases are painful details sketched out by families, left wondering what has become of their loved ones. Many women have been missing for decades.
There is no excuse for ignoring missing Black women. A Black life is worth just as much as a White one, and is just as human.