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As Black Women and Girls Go Missing, and the Media and the Police Do Little, a National Task Force is Required to Address the Issue

National Green Party Women's Caucus
www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Contact:
Monica James, monicajames3409@aol.com, National Green Party Women’s Caucus Spokesperson

The Green Party of the United States National Women’s Caucus released a statement today calling for a national task force to focus on solving the disappearances of black women and girls.


Caucus spokesperson Monica James said, “As Black women and girls go missing, and the media hardly gives coverage and the police do very little to solve their cases, the GPUS Women’s Caucus believes a national task force is required to address this issue. As the Caucus spokesperson, this topic of the invisible, unknown numbers of missing Black women and girls has touched me personally and many of us the hardest. Some have never heard these stories, but in the Black communities, it’s the silent wishes of family and friends, exhausted, crying for help, that these women be acknowledged and found.”

The task force would accurately collect and share data on missing Black women and girls and provide financial and logistical support to local government agencies in solving the disappearances, among other goals.

Green Party 2020 vice-presidential nominee Angela Walker said, “The epidemic of missing Black girls and women (both cisgender and transgender) in the United States has been underreported for far too long. It is unacceptable that these disappearances are not prioritized, and this disregard only highlights the fact that this country does not protect or respect Black girls and women. It is past time for a task force that focuses on this national tragedy and brings aid to the families affected. As a Black woman, parent and grandparent, this is personal to me.”

The statement highlights research demonstrating that Black people make up a disproportionate number of missing persons. However, when Black women and girls are reported missing, they are frequently inappropriately classified as runaways, which removes the sense of urgency in the response. Public knowledge of the missing is limited because many of the stories never make it to the media, and few are prioritized or solved by the police, but the numbers are estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Except for primarily Black journalists and publications that have covered the issue, few of the stories are reported or ever resolved.

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https://www.gp.org/as_black_women_and_girls_go_missing_and_the_media_and_the_police_do_little_a_national_task_force_is_required_to_address_the_issue
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