On Dec. 18, 2011, she drove her 1998 Chevy Blazer out of her family driveway in St. Louis County, Mo., at 3 p.m. Three hours later, the vehicle was found at an intersection 25 minutes away in East St. Louis. The driver’s door was open, the car was empty and the engine was still running.Phoenix was 23 years old. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
But her disappearance represents a much larger problem:
As of today, more than 64,000 black women remain missing across the United States.
Despite representing 12.85% of the population, black Americans accounted for nearly 226,000 — or 34% — of all missing persons reported in 2012. According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, the comparison with other racial groups is unfavorable: Whites and Hispanics are a combined 80.1% of the population, but account for 60% of missing persons.
Essence points to a 2010 report titled “Missing Children in National News Coverage,” which found that while black children accounted for 33.2% of missing children that year, the media exposure rate was an unimpressive 19.5%. While black men go missing at statistically higher rates, coverage of black female disappearances is particularly telling in light of the attention similar stories get when white women are involved.
They’re drawing attention to the fact that 235k people went missing from 2010 to present and 135k were black but media coverage was at a waning 19%. There is a disparity in coverage, they aren’t TAKING AWAY from the plight of white and Latino families trying to find love ones, they’re drawing attention to the need for media coverage to help African Americans find loved ones.
http://blackmattersus.com/1656-64000-missing-women-in-america-all-have-one-important-thing-in-common/
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