Reason #1:
High rates of police brutality and murder make Black families hesitant to call the police, even when we need them.
Reason #2:
The effects of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation make it more difficult for our families to seek help when our children go missing - because we lack the wealth and access to networks to hire private detectives, form search parties, and other special services.
Reason #3
Since our children are overrepresented in foster care, or may live with family members other than their parents, the police stereotype them as runaways who have voluntarily fled from their surroundings - and refuse to search.
Reason #4:
Black children are often treated as “problem children” and subjected to punishment. They are not seen as “victims” of anything, as this is a privilege reserved for white women and girls.
Reason #5:
Lastly, the media generally does not give a damn about our children when they go missing unless the circumstances are extraordinary. The media portrays our communities as crime ridden, so a child missing from such an area is not considered newsworthy. The bottom line?
Our missing children are suffering from the compounded effects of racism. We must fight to reform and hold the social system accountable for its racist devaluation of our children!