Overlooked: Black and Latino D.C. Teens are Going Missing and No One is Talking About It
According to Washington's Top News.com, more than a dozen black and Latino teens have been reported missing in D.C. since March 1.
The apparent jump in the number of missing young people in the District has raised concern in neighborhoods and on social media, but not on major news outlets. In addition, the local police departments in D.C. don't seem to think that there is even in fact a rise in missing teens, regardless of public outcry.
Judging from the similarities in the descriptions of the teens, many are suspecting that they are being sold into sex trafficking and some are suspected to have been involved in gangs, according to the Washington Post.
In that same Washington Post article, Sharece Crawford, a member of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission in Southeast Washington said:
" 'What we need is a citywide alert about the dangers out here and how parents can protect their children.' She continued, 'Residents are very worried. They are wondering if the city is taking this seriously. They say things like, ‘If white girls were disappearing uptown, there would be a state of emergency.
From Right to Left: Chareah Payne, Shaniah Boyd, Michael Carrera-Mason
They have a point. If cars of a similar make and model were disappearing from the more affluent neighborhoods of our city, there would probably be more outrage. Owners of vehicles popular with thieves would be warned through various media outlets and automobile associations.'
Not so when it comes to black girls from more disadvantaged communities. Their family and friends often suffer in silence.
When hundreds of girls — and boys, too — are reported missing, we should all be concerned. Is their home life so horrible that they must flee? Has poverty and desperation made them vulnerable to enticements that lure them into the city’s burgeoning sex trade?
Either way, something has gone awfully wrong."
If it weren't for social media, most of us probably wouldn't even know about this spike of missing teens.Celebrities and influencers alike have been speaking out in hopes of spreading the word on this overlooked issue:
Damn they found #TomBradys missing super bowl Jersey? If only all those black and brown teenage girls reported missing in DC had jerseys on!
— DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) March 20, 2017
It takes 3.2 secs to retweet and help find these 8 BLACK GIRLS reported missing in Washington, D.C. during the past three days (1/2) pic.twitter.com/xpEwNcW44S
— Black Marvel Girl (@BlackMarvelGirl) March 13, 2017