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California bill would create alert system similar to Amber Alert for Black youth

According to the Black and Missing Foundation, 38% of people reported missing in the United States are Black. But due to certain classifications that are disproportionately given to Black youth who go missing, Amber Alerts are often not sent out, and those Black children and young women fall down the priority list for police. A new bill in California would create an "Ebony Alert" notification system, similar to that of an Amber Alert, for Black children and young Black women between the ages of 12 to 25. The bill would authorize law enforcement to request that an Ebony Alert be activated if that agency determines the alert would be an effective tool. According to the Black and Missing Foundation, 38% of people reported missing in the United States are Black, but due to certain classifications that are disproportionately given to Black youth who go missing, Amber Alerts are often not sent out. Community activist and Voice of the Youth founder Berry Accius said he hopes the bill prevents dangerous outcomes for missing Black youth. Sacramento resident Melissa Essick said legislation such as SB 673 would make Black families feel like more was being done to protect their children.

California bill would create alert system similar to Amber Alert for Black youth

Published : 12 months ago by https://www.facebook.com/, Orko Manna in

A new bill hopes to address the lack of attention and resources given to Black youth who go missing in California.Senate Bill 673 would create an "Ebony Alert" notification system, similar to that of an Amber Alert, but it would be specifically for Black children and young Black women between the ages of 12 to 25. The bill would authorize law enforcement to request that an Ebony Alert be activated if that agency determines the alert would be an effective tool. Democratic State Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, introduced the bill."It would just assure that the same resources and attention that are given to non-African American missing girls and women are dedicated to them, and making sure that law enforcement dedicates the same level of resources of an alert similar to the Amber Alert," Bradford said.According to the Black and Missing Foundation, 38% of people reported missing in the United States are Black. But due to certain classifications that are disproportionately given to Black youth who go missing, Amber Alerts are often not sent out, and those Black children and young women fall down the priority list for police."Young African American girls are listed more likely as runaways versus missing, and even those who are being exploited sexually are listed as juvenile prostitutes. And as we all know, someone under the age of 18 cannot consent to selling sex, so just the labels that they put on them just makes law enforcement far less inclined to look for them," Bradford said.SB 673 would also encourage news organizations to share the information that is part of the Ebony Alert. Community activist and Voice of the Youth founder Berry Accius said because of the lack of attention given to missing Black children, families often come to him for help in getting their message out. He said he hopes an Ebony Alert prevents dangerous outcomes for missing Black youth."A lot of our missing Black girls, they never come home, as well as many of the missing Black girls get sex trafficked," Accius said.Accius said an Ebony Alert notification system is a great opportunity to create change in the community and make Black families in California feel like they can be confident in going to law enforcement to find their missing loved ones."This is going to be a game-changer," Accius said. "When you’re putting something like this that is very much intentionally focused on Black girls, Black children, that's a game-changer in so many different ways because it says this is directly for you, and the response will be a lot different."Sacramento resident Melissa Essick said she believes an Ebony Alert could have brought her daughter Matthiya home sooner. She said Matthiya went missing in December 2020, but when she filed a report, it did not seem like her daughter was being prioritized."I didn't feel like there was a sense of urgency. I didn’t feel like they were really doing anything to find her. I feel like I just made a report and then that was that," Essick said. "It really made me feel scared, because I'm like, if something did happen, if she is taken or something like that, then nobody’s looking for her."Essick said legislation such as SB 673 would make Black families like hers feel like more was being done to protect their children."We definitely do need some type of alert for Black and Brown children," Essick said.SB 673 is sponsored by the NAACP California Hawaii State Conference. Bradford said the bill has passed through the Senate Public Safety Committee and now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.


Topics: California, Missing People

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