In the U.S. there are approximately 18% of Black women and girls going missing and compared to the general number of us who make up the population this is a very large amount. There have been many cases that have gotten national attention over the years when women and kids go missing, but many of us know most of these cases have been of White women and children. So, with Black women and children having the higher rates of going missing why is this so you might ask? We live in a country of “missing White women syndrome” in that this population seems to be the most vulnerable in the eyes of the media when it comes to being missing.
Recently, we did see the case of Carlee Russell go public and I was shocked out of my mind that she received such large national attention. I followed the case and hoped for her safe return, but in my head, I suspected the reason of her nationwide search is because she called the police herself to report another issue and then she too became a victim.
The Black & Missing Foundation had a docuseries on HBO’s Max streaming service, and it spoke on this issue because in most cases of Black women and teenage girls going missing, they are often thought to be runaways before law enforcement think of them as missing. This is a problem because the first 48 hours are very important because there is a chance, they may still be local and possibly alive after last contact with their families and/or friends. In the docuseries, you will hear about stories of women who were returned to their families with help from the foundation, women whose killer was sort with the help of the foundation, and some who are still being looked for with the help of the foundation.
Although I am sad that there is a possibility that Carlee may have made up this story and took away time and resources that could have gone to someone who is truly missing, I am happy we finally got some type of attention and I hope this continues. There have been White women who have made up a story of kidnapping as well but there is still attention given to other cases, so I hope this case does not make it hard for us in the future when a real missing case actually happens for Black women and girls.
As I mentioned in a previous post, July is National Minority Mental Health Month. I hope if Carlee case was false, she gets the help she needs because making up a situation like this is not normal and something is going on in someone’s mind when they can go through with a plan like this.
Below are links on the Black and Missing Foundation to learn about some of the missing: