With #BlackAndMissing, a new four-part documentary series streaming on HBO Max, it only makes sense that Thursday, March 3, 2022 a house committee held a hearing on #MissingBlackandIndigenousWomen on #CapitolHill with Chairman #JamieRaskins and Chairwoman #CarolynBMaloney making opening statements.
U.S Rep. #RobinKelly and her colleagues voiced a plethora of concerns, including the disproportionate rate of missing women and girls of color.
Women and girls of color make up 16% of the population but accounted for 40% of the missing people in 2020. Out of the 250,000 missing; 100,000 are Black women. Where is the media coverage, the urgency, the concern? Often times, we’ve seen the family and friends creating traction needed to find their loved ones because as many have stated, law enforcement is slow to act and provides excuses for the missing; chopping it up to nothing more than them being “responsible for their situations.”
Kelly has introduced the #ProtectBlackWomenAndGirlsAct — a bill that would establish an interagency task force to inform policymakers on how to respond to the epidemic of missing Black women. There is also now a push to reauthorize the #ViolenceAgainstWomenAct
“The media reporting of these women pales in comparison of white women,” Kelly said. “As in the tragic case of Gabby Petito, which received nearly 24-hour coverage until her body was found. You could not scroll through Twitter or read the news without seeing coverage of the story. Yes, she deserved to have this kind of media attention, but so do other women of color.”
Kelly stated “This bipartisan bill would establish an interagency task force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls in the United States and inform policymakers on how we can better respond to this epidemic.”
Here’s to finding our missing Black and Indigenous women and sending love, light and hope to those still searching and waiting. #BWLM💕
